


The Bird & The Mermaid (Trafalgar Law x F!Reader)

by BlackOrchid1004



Series: The Surgeon & The Mermaid [3]
Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M, Hybrids, Lemon, Mermaid Reader, Sirens, Water, Water Manipulation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:41:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27118354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackOrchid1004/pseuds/BlackOrchid1004
Summary: Carnival Island is the most joyous place on earth and offers the perfect chance to party and to wait until the Log Pose is ready.Sounds like huge fun.The reader among with the Heat Pirates dives right in, only to stumble over old accquaintances.The Kid Pirates and their famous sharp shooter.
Relationships: Eustass Kid/Original Female Character(s), Trafalgar D. Water Law/Reader
Series: The Surgeon & The Mermaid [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1772209
Comments: 32
Kudos: 51





	1. Day I - Arrival at Carnival Island

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AbyssCronica](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbyssCronica/gifts).



> This story is a sequel to the stories "A New Book" and "Diving Ain't No Dancing". Please read these shots first.
> 
> This multi-chaptered story will feature the original character "Birdie" of dear AbyssCronica, whose wonderful work inspires me on a regular basis.
> 
> Elements of her stories "Captive" and "Stampede" are mentioned in here, so I want you all to know, that the idea of Eustass' love solely belongs to her.
> 
> Go and explore her stories to learn more and find a vast pool of great stories to divulge in :D

Curiously you took the mask Bepo held out to you into your hands. 

It had your favourite colour and only covered the upper parts of your face like your eyes and your nose. 

"Can't be safe enough, the captain said. People won't bug us, because they know we're dangerous, but you can't be cautious enough.", the white mink told you and you agreed with a frown. 

Ever since you had survived the dangerous encounter with the young sea king and the hunter octopus, you had not been able to properly train again. Your body had been damaged too severely to have a quick recovery and therefore you had been confined to your bed for more than three weeks. Getting up today to explore the island and to breathe some fresh air had taken a long talk with your leader, who had carefully kept watch over your regenerating health. 

His grey eyes were resting on you right now and you turned your head to meet them with your own. 

He had adorned a black fake mustache right below his nose, making him look older, especially when he now added a pair of dark glasses.

You giggled at this new look of his, having him approach you and tap his right index finger against your mask-covered forehead.

"Remember your promise, mermaid-ya. Break it and you know what's in store for you.", he simply stated. 

Instead of repyling verbally, you simply nodded. 

Law was right to remind you of your health, but you were in dire need for a change of environment. 

Of course your room on board of the submarine was comfortable and catered your every need, but you longed for new faces and something else but the usually pleasant company of your nakamas.

Your whole body therefore trembled with excitement when you finally sat your feet on stable ground and headed towards Carnival Cove, the islands famous town. Sitting directly at the coast the formerly small village had transformed into a flourishing and rich city over the last sixty years. 

Tourists, pirates, fishermen, merchants and all kinds of other town folk filled the streets with their liveliness, their talks, shouts and laughter warming your heart. Obviously everyone was busy preparing for another festival. Several stalls offered many different kinds of vegetables, fruits, seafoods or meats, while others sold masks and costumes in every possible colour and form. Taverns and little food stalls called for customers, praising their fresh and savory food along with cold beverages. 

Eagerly you took in the cheerful atmosphere, not knowing where to look at first. Your comrades already made plans about where to go first, ready to scatter among the towns folk and to meet up again at the time their captain would order them to.

"What about you, mermaid-ya?"

The calm voice of Trafalgar Law pulled you from your observations and musings.

"Oh, I'm not yet sure. I was thinking about finding a bookstore and looking for the encyclopedia I mentioned to you yesterday.", you explained only to be rewarded with a teasing snort from Penguin.

"Oi, mermaid-chan, you're always hiding behind books. One day you'll be not only pretty but as smart as the captain."

Rolling your eyes at his obvious try to make you blush, you said: "Why don't you tell our captain directly, that you think he's pretty. I'm sure it'll be honey to his ears."

"Yah! I wasn't talking about the captain being pretty.", Penguin shrieked.

"Are you saying he's ugly then?"

A devilish smile appeared, your eyes shining with impish glee behind your mask.

The poor pirate let out a desperate wail at your question, only to be laughed at by his friends, who lived for the cheeky side of your personality.

Giggling you covered your mouth with your left hand, only to notice Laws eyes resting on yourself again.

"So you think I'm handsome, mermaid-ya?"

His voice was low enough to find only your ears. 

Immediately heat rose to your cheeks and you let out a huff.

"Neither did I say that nor did I say the opposite. You should take better care of your ears, captain.", you said a small pout curving your lips.

The sound that followed your reaction was a rare one.

At first you weren't sure, but then you realized it.

That smug bastard of a pirate was chuckling. 

Cursing yourself for putting your foot in your mouth, you shot a glare at the masked man next to you.

"Guys, the captain made her blush again!", Shachi whispered to Bepo and Penguin, when he saw your reaction.

"Birds of a feather flock together.", you thought, when you saw the three of them sticking their heads together, obviously enjoying the banter between you and Law. 

Luckily they didn't hear the exact words. If that were to be the case, there would be no end to their teasing.

Deciding that retreat was the best idea to solve this situation, you took your leave after asking Law about the time to meet up again. 

As you left the Heart Pirates watched as your petite form disappearead around the next corner. 

***

Wandering through the streets, you held tightly onto your bag, trying your best to keep your money safe. You knew that you were lucky to have at least a few Belly to call your own. When the Heart Pirates had taken you in, you had been in your mermaid form, your energy spent, carried by the waves and closer to death than life. After your transmutation your basic instincts had plunged you into a fit of rage, your newly awakened powers wreaking havoc and destroying the lab you had worked in. 

Casting those dark images aside before they could overwhelm you, you continued to search for a bookstore. It felt like forever until your quest was finally over and you were able to enter a tiny but tidy room filled with books of all kinds. The owner, a little old lady, greeted you with a warm smile and asked if she could offer you help. Taking her kind offer, you told her the name of the book you were looking for. 

"Oh dear, that book was rather popular, so I'm not sure whether I still have one around. If you're not afraid to wait a while, I can check my last order of books. Like that I'll be able to see how many copies are left, if there are any."

With nothing better to do, you agreed to wait. 

Picking up another book, an essay about genetics, you started reading to pass the time. You had just finished the first twenty pages, when the woman returned, a broad smile on her wrinkled brown face.

"You're lucky, Miss. Here's the final one. It tried to hide in the storage room, but it couldn't escape my eyes. They might be old, but not blind."

Mirroring her smile you handed her the money for the book she brought as well as the one you had just read in. After closing the shops door behind you, you stuffed your latest treasures into your bag and continued to wander the streets of Carnival Cove. Making way for a merry marching band, you whistled their happy tune, as you treated yourself to a fresh apple from a fruit stall. Safe behind the cover of your mask, you were able to get a rare grasp of a normal life. But right when you started to imagine, which turns your life might have taken, destiny came crashing into you. 

In the form of a young drunk man, who slurred an apology, only to then take a closer look at you.

"Oi Missy, let me buy you a drink to show you my honesty."

Trying to touch your arm, he made you step back. 

"I don't drink. So thanks, but no.", you replied sternly, dodging once again, when he tried to grab you.

You were well aware, that you would not stand any chance, if he attacked you. Usually you would make good use of basic self-defense skills, but with your body still healing, your punches and kicks wouldn't have any effect. 

But as it seemed, the drunkard was losing interest in you, since he turned away from you. 

Relieved you stepped further away from him, before turning around and leaving him behind.

A grave error.

Mind set on teaching you a lesson, the drunkard grabbed a full bucket of water and threw its content straight at your back. 

Just a gasp found its way over your lips.

Then the pain kicked in.


	2. Day I - Trouble at Carnival Island

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT!
> 
> Please note, that my story ISN'T canon work for AbyssCronicas storyline dealing with Eustass Kid and Birdie.  
> My story simply is a small hommage to Cronicas writing and her gorgeous stories. 
> 
> So if you want the real canon-deal, please go and read her stories "Captive" and "Mission Dressrosa".

Pain ripped through your whole body while you ran as fast as your burning legs would allow it. By the intensity of your cramps it would only take a few more minutes until your legs would be pulled together by the power of your mutated genes. 

When that happened, you needed to be away from the crowds.

Especially since you didn't want an audience to watch the horrid seizures you would go through as your body would adapt to its mermaid form.

Your transformation was always painful, but underwater the pain subsided quicker. 

Now there would be no kind of relief. 

On land your pain would be tenfold.

You remembered how a poor Heart Pirate once had accidentally dropped a bucket full of water in front of you, triggering your mutation as his crew watched in horror.

Since then your nakamas had been very careful with water around you.

Volunteering to a series of self-experiments you had thrown yourself into a research-marathon alongside Trafalgar Law.

Together you had found out, that your mutated genes were activated by water in general, which meant that you had to be cautious with all kinds of highly-hydrous substances. Working tirelessly, you and the captain were able to treat and train your body into becoming less aggressive towards certain liquids depending on their chemical purity. Over the months your efforts had slowly but steadily born fruit, but drinking water as well as salt water always stayed the most dangerous to you.

A few drops were no problem, while something like taking a bath or getting caught by a rainshower would activate your mermaid dna. 

As did the unforeseen splash by that blasted idiot just now.

Muttering curses at him, you felt bile rising in your throat, while your eyes started to burn.

Once again you hurried, forcing your body to its absolute limits as you made your way through the crowds, who stared at you in wonder. Many asked you how you could leave your attacker behind, who even now shouted vulgar comments after you. But you couldn't care less about this vile words. Not when you could see the sea at the end of the small alley in front of you.

"Come on, come on. Just a few more metres. You can do it.", you encouraged yourself.

Sparks of pain now started to ripple through your lungs,preparing them to breathe underwater. 

Tumbling forwards you pushed through the few bystanders, fending off helping hands, not wanting to be held. 

"The water is right in front of you. Get a grip on yourself, woman!", you wheezed only to apologize, when you ran into a group of people coming out of a spunky tavern. 

"Sorry. That wasn't my intention."

With that you wanted to close in the final steps to the sea, when a hard grip onto your wrist held you back. Another pull turned you around, forcing a pained froan from your lips.

In front of you were five men, all broad and strong in their physique, vicious in their body language. Their faces showing a mixture of angered annoyance and evil smiles, telling you from the very first look that you were in big trouble now. 

"Little lady, do you know, who you just ran into? We're Don Dandolos men. You should know better than seek trouble with the Dons men. The whole city is ours", their leader said, his voice hard and unforgiving.

Rolling your eyes behind your mask, you breathed out. Lady Luck definitely wasn't on your side today, instead it had pleased her to screw up your day once again. You were losing precious time and you weren't looking forward to the groups reaction, when you transformed right under their ugly noses. 

"Listen, I already said I am sorry. I really need to go and will pay more attention in the future, okay? Bye!"

With that you tried to pull your arm from the mans grip again. You didn't care who their leader was, you didn't want to know what kind of position they had among his men, you only wanted to get into that bloody water. From the itchy prickling in your legs, you knew, that your legs would fuse into your fishtail any minute now. As soon as that happened, you would be really screwed.

But the man didn't budge, instead he reached for your mask.

"Who said, we're done here, pretty lady? I'd really love to see whether your as lovely as you're feisty."

Your instincts kicked in and you used the only weapon you had. 

You bit his greasy fingers.

"Damn witch!", the man cursed, using his free hand to slap you straight in the face.

Your mask flew off by the force.

"Look at that, boys! What a beauty!", your attacker rejoiced, pulling you closer to his front to have a better look at your features. 

Anger boiled through you as you spat in his face.

Another blow followed, bruising your other cheek in the process, but just when he wanted to pull you towards him again, a ripping sound was heard, heat exploded in your legs and one of his companions started to scream.

"She's a monster!"

Your knees gave in and soon you were writhing on the ground as the men watched your transformation in utter horror, yelling around loudly.

"She's got a fishtail, you idiots. She's a mermaid!"

"But boss, we've already seen mermaids at Fish-Men Island. Real mermaids don't do that kind of shit!"

While they discussed, you felt your seizures subside. Your legs were gone, replaced by your beautifully shaped red and white fishtail. But no matter how much you liked its vibrant colour and the graceful moves it enabled you to in the water, right now it was only a nuisance. Without your legs to run, you were in no state to escape. Crawling away was out of question, since you'd easily be caught again due to the lack of speed. Right now there was nothing you can do and you started to curse yourself for getting into this desperate situation. To make it worse the next work spoken by one of the brutes made your blood turn cold.

"Why don't we take her to the boss? He can make good use of her, even if it's just by selling her to the Celestial Dragons."

They wanted to make you a slave. 

Don Dandolo seemed to be a big number among the worldwide crime network, if he was also able to contact the World Nobles for human trafficking.

The groups leader crouched down next to you, pushing his slick green hair back with his hand.

"Do you hear that, sweetie? We're going to make good money with a freak like you."

"Go die, asshole!", you screamed at him, your anger now completely taking you over.

"Such a bad mouth. You'll wish you're dead, when you get branded."

He laughed cruelly, before gesturing towards his men.

"Get a sack and some ropes. We'll pack up our gift for the boss nicely."

His henchmen laughed, already counting the money they would recieve from Dandolo as a reward.

They never got the ropes though. 

The sound of a gunshot rang through the alley and in the next moment their leader collapsed right next to you.

A bullethole right between his eyes.

Your eyes widened in shock, as hell broke loose around you. Quickly rolling behind a few empty barrels to your left, you hoped to get yourself out of the way. There was no hint from where the shots were coming, but when they ended the whole group of underlings was lying on the ground. Either dead or rendered harmless by the mysterious sniper. The smell of gunpowder filled your nose and you wondered how nobody had noticed the commotion. 

"You're lucky, they've started another parade and the musics blaring so loud. If not, there'd be an audience around here right now."

A muffled voice to your right startled you and made you turn your head. Your gaze was met by a pair of eyes, whose colours you couldn't really describe, because a mask much like your own as well as a black hood held back the light. From what you heard, you guessed, a woman was talking to you. 

"Thanks for helping me though.", you replied, causing the other person to tut at you.

"Tsk, it's nothing. Can't let nasties like those bastards put someone innocent into slavery."

You glared at the groaning mean, who tried to get up again.

"Can we leave here? Just get me to the ocean please. I want to be gone as soon as possible. There are still a few Belly in my wallet. I can give you that.", you offered. 

Instead of replying the masked woman pulled out a Den Den Mushi, while keeping an eye on the wounded.

"Wire!", she called into the speaker.

"Finally! Where the heck are you? The captain will explode when he hears, you went through town all by yourself."

"Oh, boo hoo, tell him to chill. I'm a grown girl and even tie my own shoelaces."

A groan was heard from the male speaker at the other end of the line. 

"Fine. Tell me where you are and I'll come pick you up."

Your saviour quickly took a look at her surroundings.

"There's a small alley right behind the "Lucky Duck"-casino. Walk it straight to it's middle, where the tavern "Pleasant Pine" is located. I'm right there.", she said.

A click was all that followed and the call ended.

"Don't worry. Help's close by. Then we'll get you to the sea and you can swim right back home."

The masked woman gave you a thumbs up, before helping you sit up and handing you your discarded bag as well as your now torn mask.

You took in her physique: She was petite, her clothes mostly coloured in red an black, while her mask reminded you of a little bird. It's color was a black that faded into dark blue. Its edges had the form of feathers, which extended from each side of her face. A small beak hid part of her nose, while her nostrils were uncovered, perfecting the bird image. 

A lump formed in your stomach, when you recalled her talking to a man called "Wire" and a captain with the tendency to explode. Adding the bird mask and the sublime shooting skills, a thought dawned upon you.

"Are you-"

"There you are!"

Your question was interrupted by a mans voice, whose appearance right behind your saviour was clearing out any doubts. As he stepped over the injured and dead men in his way, you immediately recognized him, since his hood with two horns left no room for doubts. 

Not only was your saviour a member of the Kid Pirates.

She was the infamous "Birdie", lover of Eustass Kid.

So much for being safe and happy after all this commotion. 

You didn't know, how you had managed to piss of fate so badly.

Raising your head, you met Wires eyes. His brows immediately went up, as he saw your face.

"Birdie, do you know who that is? I think you should take a closer look.", he said, causing the woman next to him to examine you closer.

"She's a poor sweet mer- Oh fuck!"

Biting your lips you shrugged at them, a crooked smile on your face.

"Hi?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER
> 
> Original characters, their design and all orginal elements from AbyssCronicas stories, solely belong to her. 
> 
> All elements originating from One Piece belong to Eiichiro Oda


	3. Day I - Back at the Polar Tang

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT!
> 
> Please note, that my story ISN'T canon work for AbyssCronicas storyline dealing with Eustass Kid and Birdie.  
> My story simply is a small hommage to Cronicas writing and her gorgeous stories.
> 
> So if you want the real canon-deal, please go and read her stories "Captive" and "Mission Dressrosa".

To say you were uncomfortable was a complete understatement. You would lie, if you said you were okay with the fact that Wire recognized you. The Kid Pirates and the Heart Pirates weren't best friends after all. Especially not since your nakama had caused Eustass Kid to almost flip at the mention that his lover, who was right now standing next to her crewmate, was a former marine officer and might leave him one day to go back to her old profession. The bar your two crews had sat in, had almost ended up in ruins. You hadn't been present that evening and you were grateful for Laws decision to keep your addition to his crew a secret for a little while longer.

These times of secrecy had ended the moment your wanted poster had been released to the world.

Since then your face had been plastered to several city walls, showing off your bounty of 200.000.000 Belly as well as the fact that the World Government was only interested in capturing you alive.

"Malicious Mermaid" they called you, a hommage to your crime of destroying a government lab and killing several innocent people.

The fact that your former boss had been a corrupt and cruel bastard, who had deliberately pushed you into the chemical tank to make you a test subject of his, had been covered up by CP-agents. Same happened to all hints, that your boss had been an underling of a underworld broker named "Joker", who, as you knew now, was nobody else but Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Shichibukai. 

But all these problems currently wandered to the back of your mind. 

Right now you had a different problem or two problems to be exact.

Two members of the Kid Pirates right in front of you, while you were in your mermaid form and therefore no real match for them. Yet they didn't seem to consider attacking or kidnapping you.

"I say, we get her into the sea and let her swim. Nobody needs to know I've helped her. What Kid doesn't know, doesn't make him angry.", Birdie said.

Wire closed his eyes, considering her words.

It seemed you were lucky to have met two of the "calmer" Kid Pirates and not the violent Captain himself.

"Think of it that way. She's indebted to us and won't forget it.", the other woman pressed on before turning to you. "You won't forget it, right? Because if you do, I'll come for you."

Your gazes bore into each other, but in the end you nodded.

"I'll pay you back, Birdie-san. But only you, because you saved me. This has nothing to do with your nakama. And if you expect me to betray my captain and crew, you're better off killing me."

To your surprise the masked sharpshooter started to giggle.

"Looks like there's a tough one hiding beneath this pretty face. Alright deal."

Taking her outstretched hand and shaking it, your eyes went to Wire, who watched your deal with obvious concern, but then came towards you and hoisted you up. Shifting uncomfortably as you had only been carried that way by your captain or one of his men, you turned your eyes away. This reaction caused the tall man and his crewmate to laugh.

"Don't worry, your favourite surgeon won't hear about Wire carrying you around. At least not now.", Birdie cackled, causing you to hiss at her.

"He's not my favourite surgeon. Cut the idea out of your head."

"Then why are you blushing?"

Wires calm and simple question had your fishtail swatting through the air to empathize your anger and embarassment.

"Because it's embarassing to think, he'd - argh, forget it. He's a capable doctor, a calm strategist and a good... captain.",

The two Kid Pirates laughed wholeheartedly. It was clear that they believed you not a bit.

Crossing your arms right below your bosom, you changed the subject, side-eyeing the woman next to Wire and you.

Eventough you couldn't see her face, her whole attitude carried a selfconfidence that added perfectly to the rest. Adding it to all your knowledge about Eustass Captain Kid, you understood what drew him to a woman like her. Birdie obviously wasn't afraid to butt heads with the fiery redhead and tell him to go blow himself, if he rubbed her the wrong way. From the few bits you saw of her skill, underestimating her was a deadly mistake. The Marine definitely suffered a loss with her joining hands with a member of the so called "Worst Generation".

"Here we are."

Wire stopped in his tracks and you saw that you had reached a pier with some stone stairs leading straight into the blue waves. 

Wiggling in his arms, you looked at Birdie and asked them, to let you into the water first, before you'd take your bag with you. Handing it to her, you then nodded at her horned comrade. Gently he sat you onto the piers edge from where you glided into the blue beneath you. As soon as your head popped back up again, you opened your arms to get your bag back. 

"Won't your stuff get all wet?", Birdie asked, but at your denial, she threw your belongings into your direction. 

At your command the water formed a bubble around your bag and kept it dry. 

"Whoa, that's nice. Can you do more?", the petite sniper asked.

"Of course, but unless you pay me, there ain't no water manipulation.", you laughed.

"Come on, I just saved your scaly ass in that alley."

The pout on her lips caused you to giggle, but at Wires next words your face dropped.

"Let her swim, Birdie. The little mermaid is anxious to get back to her lover."

Your answer to this was a huge splash from your tail, enforced by your powers.

For a few seconds there was no trace of the male as the water covering his form. When he reappeared, all wet and speechless, another splash announced you diving beneath the blue. It was followed by your right arm resurfacing and showing your outstreched right middle finger towards Wire. Birdie howled with laughter at the side.

"She told you Law isn't her lover.", she wheezed.

"Whatever. Let's get you back to Kid, before he tears another pub apart."

Like this you parted ways, not even thinking about the idea, that one of the underlings, who had attacked you before, actually had survived the brawl.

He currently was on his way, straight back to his boss, eager to tell him that the Heart and the Kid Pirates were seeking trouble in his territory.

***

"She's late. I hope she's okay."

Bepo sighed, resting his chin on his white paws, as he looked down the side of the submarine. 

"She'll be fine. She's a mermaid after all. Plus she knows how to defend herself. Remember how she took out that hunter octopus?"

Shachi came up to the white Mink and patted his back. 

"Not a very good example. She's been injured badly and had to spend such a long time in bed without training. Even now she is still healing. That's why the captain didn't want her to leave the ship at first."

Bepo sighed, only to have a huge smile brighten up his face, when he saw a shadow beneath the waves approach the ship. Flashes of red and white flitting from under the surface. He'd recognize these colours everywhere. 

"Everyone, mermaid-chan is back!", he yelled, waving his short arms over his back.

Clione took a look over the railing, seeing you dive below the submarine to get to the hatch, you used to depart and enter the Polar Tang while in your mermaid form. He then hurried to open the hatch for you and help you out of the water. As your head emerged from the waves, you smiled and handed him your bag. He put it aside and made a gesture for you to come out, offering you his hand for support. 

"Could you get me a big towel or a blanket first?", you asked with a sheepish smile. "I didn't actually plan to come back like this and my pants got destroyed, so.."

Under his blue cap, the pirate blushed immediately, only to scurry of and get you something to wrap yourself in. 

"Mermaid-ya."

The calm voice of Trafalgar Law made you turn your head.

The Surgeon Of Death approached you, his furrowed brows the only small hint of his dissatisfaction.

"Why?"

His simple and calm question made your insides churn, but you knew, that lying would only make him even angrier.

"I was assaulted by a bloke, because I didn't want to drink with him. He splashed water onto me, when I turned my back to him. Probably wanted to teach me a lesson. It triggered my transformation, so I tried to get to the ocean as quickly as possible. On my way there, I bumped into some other men, who then caused trouble, because I somehow scratched their ego. I transformed in the alley, that's how I ended up in this form."

"How did you escape?"

His grey gaze kept yours locked, taking in every little feature of your face, in case you'd try to let out important details.

"A woman saved me. She shot my attackers and got me to the sea with the help of her friend.", you continued.

"Did they see your face?", Law asked.

"Yes, but-"

"I GOT THE BLANKET!"

Clione interrupted your answer, but to your surprise his captain didn't insist on you answering further. Instead he took the linnen cloth from his subordinate and asked you to pull yourself onto the hatchs edge. Swiftly you followed his command, settling onto the part of your tail that equaled your bum, only to be wrapped up by Law, who then took you onto his arms and carried you to his operating room. The whole way neither of you spoke a word. 

After the doors had closed behind him, Law sat you down and onto his operation table. 

"Dry yourself off.", he told you, before turning away and preparing some of your medicinal salves. Your legs' skin would likely be torn and red again, so he needed to treat them first in order to avoid an infection. From the corner of his eyes he noticed your movement, letting out a sigh. 

He understood your longing for a new environment after being quarantined for so long, but if this was already the outcome of your first endeavour, he didn't want to imagine how things might turn out, when his bigger plans came to fruition. Ever since you had joined his crew, part of him argued, that it had been a mistake to take you in. Yet these doubts were contradicted by your commitment to his cause, your willingness to use your medicinal and scientific skills for his and his crews benefit as well as the fact that you by now shared a common enemy in Doflamingo. 

Aside from that your company was actually comfortable. He enjoyed talking to you, since you were as polite as you were intelligent. Since he had become a pirate and joined the ranks of Doflamingos family, there had been many women fawning over him. Many of them beautiful, most of them airheaded and stupid. You though -

"I'm done."

Upon hearing your voice, he came back to you, handing you the ointments, three pills to ease your pain and a glass of water. 

Watching you take in the medicine, he remained silent. You didn't say a word either, only to groan, when your fishtail started to rip at the fin, tearing itself apart to make room for your legs. Thanks to the pills, the pain was bearable, but it still made you feel a little nauseous as you pulled the blanket up and watched the scales retract into the skin of your legs. To both your surprise the skin was only slightly red, the cooling effect of the seagrass ointment immediately reducing the itch. Breathing out you put the salve aside, you used the blankets endings to form a knot as well as a makeshift-skirt and motioned to get down from the table. Your legs dangled over the tables edge, when Law stepped into your way, your toes touching the raw fabric of his jeans. 

"Captain?"

Your brows raised, asking him, if there was anything else he wanted to discuss.

"The people, who saved you. You said it was a woman along with her friend?", the blackhaired man in front of you asked.

"Yeah. She appeared just when those blokes wanted to tie me up. They planned to get me to their boss, who then would sell me."

"She shot them?"

Nodding you told him the exact way, your saviour had taken out the five men. Law listened to your explanations, his face not giving a hint on what he thought. When you mentioned the name "Don Dandolo", he smirked. 

"One of Doflamingos underlings. Same league as Disco and his lot at Sabaody Archipelago."

"So we're here to take him out? As a part of your plan?", you asked.

"More like making Joker drop him, just as he dropped Disco and his shop back then.", he replied before making way for you to get back onto your own feet. 

Holding your blanket-skirt together, you bowed your head in his direction.

"Sorry for the commotion, though. I didn't expect lady luck to screw up so badly.", you said.

"It happened. Take more care when you leave the submarine tomorrow, you hear me? Next time anything like that happens, you'll stay with me and I won't care if you're tired or if you want to go back."

Law smirked, when he saw your cheeks flush at the thought. 

"A-Aye captain.", you mumbled and hurried towards the door.

No wonder, rumors started to circulate among the seven seas. 

Trafalgar Law seemed to treat you like every other woman most of the time, but every now and then his behaviour caused a tension between the two of you, which could easily be interpreted as some weird version of affection.

As your steps' echo faded, Trafalgar started to cleaned the operation table, only to halt in his actions, when he noticed a shimmering red scale in the lower left corner. 

Taking it up, he took a close look at it, as an old legend from his childhood invaded his memory:

_A mermaids scale is like a tiny piece of her soul. Whoever finds it, can consider themselves lucky for he or she might have the chance to see that mermaid again. Mermaids themselves are a wonder, they bring luck to those who treat them well and wreak havoc on those who mean to bring them harm. Whoever touches the heart of a mermaid, she will stay true to that person until the end of their days._

"Captain?"

Penguins head appeared at the door as he called for his leader.

Law turned his head, putting the scale into his pocket.

"What is it?", he asked.

"Our scouts have confirmed the rumors. The Kid Pirates are here too.", his nakama replied.

"Good. Let's see what Eustass-ya and his lot are up to."


	4. Day II - Meeting the beast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT!
> 
> Please note, that my story ISN'T canon work for AbyssCronicas storyline dealing with Eustass Kid and Birdie.  
> My story simply is a small hommage to Cronicas writing and her gorgeous stories.
> 
> So if you want the real canon-deal, please go and read her stories "Captive" and "Mission Dressrosa".

"How about these, Miss? This is an algae called "Silverknot". It's more expensive, but if you buy a dozen, I can make you a good price and the effect is almost the same."

"I swear to Neptunes wrinkled balls, I'm not interested in these cheaper algae! Our doc told me to get exactly the ones on the note and he said, you're the only one selling them on this island!"

Curiously you watched the small woman crossing her arms and shooting an angry glare at the merchant, who was obviously trying to pressure her into buy a different ingredient for a horrendous price. The sleazy weasel was clearly targeting the fact, that his customer didn't know a thing about the medicinal use of seagrass and algae. 

And this was the point, where your captain had tasked you to step in. 

You were still amazed by the fact how well informed Trafalgar Law was, but then remembered that he was one of the highest-ranking members of the Donquixote-family. Of course he'd have access to all the information and data he needed. Doflamingo trusted Law, yet soon the day would come, when the king of Dressrosa would regret every little ounce of trust he'd given to his retainer. But for now you would do as your captain had asked you to.

_"Our scouts found out that the Kid Pirates are here as well. Since you've already gotten accquainted with their sharpshooter, it'd be best if you bring our offer for this alliance to them. I'm sure Eustass-ya will listen, when we tell him, that Dandolo is very interested in getting Birdie-ya into his slimey hands. He's lost quite a big fortune due to her blowing up the deal he struck for Doflamingo, back when she was still with the Marine. Now she's killed some of his men and ruined the chance to earn another fortune by selling a mermaid-hybrid, who's also a wanted criminal and ex-scientist of the World Government. If there's a woman he wants at his mercy it's her. Do you think you'll be able to find her and talk to her?" ___

__Of course you had agreed to get the job done._ _

__You wanted to prove your worth, especially after yesterdays desaster._ _

__After taking another breath, you left your observation spot between two shelves in the shops back and came to the front, where Kids paramour was still arguing with the merchant._ _

__"I would keep refusing this offer as well. He's trying to sell you worthless seagrass. This isn't even Silverknot."_ _

__As she heard your voice, Birdie turned around._ _

__Immediately a broad smile appeared on her masked face._ _

__A smile you mirrored, before turning towards the bald shopkeeper yourself._ _

__"Good sir, please let me take a look. My friend here is new to the fields of marine biology and I don't want her to get the wrong stuff by accident.", you said, your lips curved upwards, while your eyes narrowed._ _

__"O-Oi, when did you get in here and what do you know?"_ _

__Ignoring his nervous question, you examined the plant inside the waterfilled jar closely only to let out a mocking snort._ _

__"As I thought. This is plain seagrass, but the water is infused with shimmering colour to make it look like Silverknot. Fakes like these are easily sold to clueless customers and cause a lot of problems for the doctors, who use it."_ _

__At a loss for words the male shot you a dirty glare, only to let out a whimper, when he saw Birdies face._ _

__Despite her ornate mask one could easily tell that she was pissed._ _

__"So, you're telling me he took me for an idiot? An idiot he could sell everything to?", she asked, her voice laced with sarcastic disbelief._ _

__"Yep. I'd even go that far to say, that he was willing to risk someone losing his life due to wrong or useless medication."_ _

The two of you exchanged a look that meant nothing good for the merchant, who gulped, when two pairs of eyes met his. His sixth sense told him to be very careful now. Especially with the woman next to you, whose smirk promised nothing good for him.

"I-I'm just a humble shopkeeper trying to pay the horrendous rent on this building. P-Please accept my humble apology for this misunderstanding.", he stuttered, obviously trying to worm his way out of this situation.

"Words alone won't do. I still need the items I came here for, plus a proper recompensation.", Birdie stated, the fingertips of her right hand thumping onto the front desk, showing off her growing impatience.

His face went from its natural colour to slightly grey as he heard her.

"W-What do you have in mind, Miss?", he asked, hoping to avoid any violence from your side. 

Just when the sharpshooter wanted to reply, you tugged at the sleeve of her red jacket and whispered into her ear. As she listened to your suggestion, her grin widened and she nodded.

"That sounds great.", she agreed.

Pulling away from her ear, you smiled at the desperate man.

"You give us all the supplies we need for free and we refrain from informing our nakama. I'm sure handing out some of your goods is easier than facing the wrath of two captains from the Worst Generation, right?"

With a loud shriek he collapsed face first behind his counter. 

"Did the pure thought knock him out?"

Birdie went around the wooden desk, crouched down next to him and poked his head with her left hand.

Shrugging she got up.

"Whatever. Let's just count this as him agreeing to our offer."

With that she went up to the first of the many shelves in the shop.

You followed her, taking a look on the note, which she had brought along and helped her gathering the needed herbs and algae. But the most important one seemed to be indeed unavaiable. Rummaging through the last shelf, the two of you were close to giving up your search, when you suddenly noticed a big cardboard box in the back of the store. Two big black Ds were scribbled on the box. Following your gut instinct, you opened it and found six jars filled with the algae Birdie was looking for. 

Its name was "Red Clover" and it was considered a miracle cure for all kinds of wounds. No wonder the doctor of the Kid Pirates was looking for it. His crew wasn't lacking injuries whenever they fought. 

"That's the scientist talking, huh?"

Birdies laugh made you realize that you had once again spoken your thoughts out loud. Embarassed you rolled your eyes at her and grabbed two more jars yourself after she had taken two. Putting the wares in your respective bags, the two of you took one last look at the still unconcious shopkeeper, before you left the shop through its backdoor.

As you became one with the crowds on the street, Birdie thanked you for your help.

"But now out with it. Why have you followed me around town?"

Her question had your jaw dropping.

"Don't deny it. I noticed you from the start."

"H-How?", you blabbered.

"Simple. I'm a Haki user."

You cursed your unawareness, pulling a cackle from her.

"Looks like not all scientists do their homework on a regular basis."

Since glaring and cussing only rewarded you with more laughter from her side, you decided to offer her the truth instead. Shoving your disappointment with yourself aside, you carefully laid out your captains offer in a hushed tone. For now you avoided mentioning that she was presumably the target Don Dandolo was after. This would remain as your secret trump card in case Eustass Kid would turn down the idea of forming an alliance with one of his rivals. 

Which was more than likely from your point of view.

Your impression of him showed him as a hotheaded and violent man, who wasn't much into tactics as he was into brute force. On the battlefield he followed his instincts like a beast, making him an unpredictable and therefore more than lethal enemy. 

Compared to him Trafalgar Law was more of a schemer, putting the power of his devil fruit to good use, when needed. He didn't insist on fighting all the time and was well-known for looking at a situation first instead of jumping into it head first. 

A way of thinking you prefered over the pure display of power. 

Not that you shared this opinion with anyone though.

Your companion had remained silent throughout the entire time, giving you room to follow your own thoughts. As you reached the towns end, she stopped in her tracks and shrugged.

"I can't promise you he'll even consider it. I'm not even sure, if he'd let you leave again, considering your relationship with Law.", she told you.

"It's worth a try. And don't worry about me, I'm not wearing anything metallic on me, so in case he wants to use his powers on me, it's his bad luck. As for the relationship thing, I repeat myself: There's nothing going on between Trafalgar Law and me. Nothing aside from the of us being nakamas.", you replied sternly.

Birdie side-eyed you.

"That's not what I got, when I overheard your nakama talking. Seems like they're rooting for you. Lemme know, in case they start taking bets. I'd love to participate.", she said with a sly smile.

"Participate in what, Birdie? All I see is my woman getting cosy with someone, who's not belonging to my crew."

Your whole body tensed up at this remark. Despite not having heard this voice very often till now, you've already recognized it.

The large shadow falling upon you and the sharpshooter could only belong to one man.

Eustass "Captain" Kid.

So much for finding the devilish redhead.

Instead he found you first.

While you were fighting your nervousness, Birdie was as relaxed as a woman could be. She flashed her lover and leader a grin, only to tease him right afterwards.

"Getting cosy? Me? You're having visions, Kid. I'm only chatting with a new accquaintance. But I get your jealousy. She really is a cutie."

Keeping in your breath, you couldn't do anything else but quietly applaud her. 

This woman truely knew no fear.

You though, you were glad, you had gotten yourself a new mask. 

Like it's predecessor it only covered the upper half of your face so the rest of it remained free.

You could feel his amber orbs studying you, trying to figure out, who you were. As it seemed neither Wire nor Birdie had mentioned yesterdays meeting to him. But just when you were about to relax, he smirked.

"I see. Lemme guess, it's Laws little fishstick. The one, whose sorry ass you saved yesterday."

If you wouldn't make a fool of yourself by doing so, you would've dropped to the ground right now. Deciding not to, you raised your chin, answering his gaze with all defiance you had in you. You wouldn't do him the favour to react verbally to his insult. 

As predicted his eyes narrowed at your silence.

"Does she speak?", he asked his beloved, who watched the scene with obvious amusement.

Acting before you thought, you replied with a simple sentence.

"When she wants to."

Your sudden brazeness caused the other woman to burst into laughter and her captain to raise his non-existent brows at you.

"I have a message from my captain for you, Eustass Captain Kid. And I highly recommend you to listen to it.", you continued, your hands clenched into fists at the sides of your body.

"So? What makes you think, I won't wipe my ass with it? Law should know me better.", the redhead replied.

"He does and that's why I'm telling you that this is not only for your and your men's sake, but especially for hers." Your eyes went to his partner with a worried look, but then you took up where you'd left before. "This island is not what it seems and it might get all of us in trouble. Your men as well as us. So before you turn this down, you better take me to your ship and hear me out. If you still want to drop it afterwards be my guest, but I won't get into detail where every secondbest bloke could hear us."

You didn't know where the courage to speak like that had been hiding, but you felt proud to have all this out of your system. If Kid would kill you right now, you would've at least done your job properly.

For a dreadfully long time the tall pirate didn't say anything. He just kept his eyes on the woman, who held his heart in her hands and you wondered, what he was thinking, when he started to laugh.

"Looks like you've got some guts, fishstick. Fine, I'll listen to your message. You've got my interest, but you better make it really worth my time. If it's not, I'll send your scales back to Law. One by one. Got it?"

With a firm nod, you agreed, only to let out a relieved sigh, when the Kid Pirates took you and Birdie into their midst and left for their ship.

Noticing your trembling form, the ex-Marine took your arm.

"Relax angelfish. He'll listen to you.", she said, rubbing your limb in order to calm your nerves.

You smiled weakly.

At least the nickname she had chosen for you was better than his.

You promised yourself to tell him that, when you'd from his ship later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER
> 
> Original characters, their design and all orginal elements from AbyssCronicas stories, solely belong to her.
> 
> All elements originating from One Piece belong to Eiichiro Oda.
> 
> Dialogue-part "Does she speak?" is based on the scene between Okoye and Everett from Marvels "Black Panther".


	5. Day II - Trading with the beast

The Kid Pirates were used to their captain returning with a woman by his side. 

Especially since Birdie had officially joined their ranks. 

But seeing him return with two women in tow was a new thing.

Compared to their captains lover your appearance emitted a certain reserve towards your surroundings, yet your features held an aura that captured the eyes of a few men, who had stayed behind to guard the ship.

"Who did you bring along there, captain?"

"Birdie, who's your friend? Can you introduce us?"

"Hey cutie, what's your name?"

The other woman among your group gently jabbed your arm. 

"Looks like you've already got some fans here.", she said with a malicious grin, being perfectly aware of your blushing face.

Rolling your eyes, you showed her a wry smile yourself.

"Sure, as soon as they learn who I am, they'll gut me like the half-fish I am.", you mocked, before stopping right in front of Eustass Kid, who was now gathering his whole crew around him.

Birdie remained at your side, casually throwing an arm around your shoulder, obviously wanting you to relax and state your captains offer.

Her lovers non-existent eyebrows raised at the gesture, his face clearly showing that we wasn't too fond of the liking his woman had taken in you. 

As the ship guards now joined their nakama, they finally were able to get a close-up of you taking off your mask and revealing your face to them.

"Woah! That's Trafalgar Laws woman, the sea witch! What's she doing here?", a young boy yelled, his eyes wide in shock.

Murmurs and questions arose among the men, but were silenced by their redhaired leader, whose dyed lips curled into a devilish smile.

"Spill your business, fishstick.", he simply ordered you.

Straigthening your back, you told your conciousness to get a grip of itself and met his eyes with a fierce stare.

There would be no diplomatic foreplay. 

_"Get straight to the point, mermaid-ya. Everything else will test his temper."_

Your leaders words echoed through your mind as you spoke up. 

"I'm here to offer you an alliance in the name of my captain, Trafalgar Law."

For the slightest of moments nothing was heard on board aside from the seas soft noises.

Then a grunt came from the redhead.

A grunt that turned into a burst of laughter.

The whole crew joined him, all their faces openly showing their amusement and disbelief.

Of course you had expected this very reaction. Therefore you quietly waited for the pirates to calm down, your arms crossed in front of your chest. 

Seeing you stand your ground, Kid stopped laughing, his amber eyes narrowing at you.

"Even for Trafalgar Law, that was a good joke.", he admitted only to cross his arms as well. "Now what's the real deal, woman?"

"Ask your lover, Kid. My words were serious. The Heart Pirates offer you an alliance.", you replied sternly.

With two steps the tall supernova was in front of you, hovering above your smaller form like a beast lurking above its prey. 

"Listen well, fishstick. If your captain thinks, he can send you here and offer me an alliance without showing his own face, he's even more stupid than I thought he is.", he hissed. 

Eventough your heart was jumping in your body like a scared bird, you didn't back away. 

You were a Heart Pirate.

Law had given you this mission and you would see it through.

No matter how thickheaded his rival was, you would accomplish your goal.

"He has his reasons. Reasons you'd have as well, if you knew it's her safety that's at stake on this island.", you hissed, your eyes glancing at the woman next to you, whose arm you now gently removed from around your shoulders.

"Thin ice, woman. Choose your next words wisely or I'll tear you apart, no matter if you're Laws pet or not."

Amber flames danced in his eyes, his rage surfacing at the idea of his beloved being threatened.

"Don Dandolo, baron of Carnival Island. Henchman of underworld broker "Joker" alias Donquixote Doflamingo. The guy has some unfinished business with your lover." 

Turning your head to Birdie, you saw her scratching the back of her neck as she nodded.

"I remember the name. That incident was years ago. We didn't manage to catch the main guy behind it, since his traces were covered up too well. Looking at it now, I felt something was fishy about how the World Government had the Marine ending the case. One of his underlings took all the blame and didn't say a word.", she explained.

"Now you know why. With Doflamingo and his immunity as a Shichibukai in the picture as well as the fact, that the World Government is having a share in his business, there was no way the Marine could be allowed to investigate further.", you replied bitterly, having your own reservations against how the worlds leaders got rid of their problems.

Eustass Kid had listened to this exchange between you and his sharpshooter surprisingly calm, but was now getting impatient. 

The urge to rip off that whackos head and be done with it was about to get the best of him.

As if she had read his mind, the woman next to you, put her small hand on his right arm.

Her eyes met his and even without them saying a word, you could feel, that she was asking him to calm down. 

You couldn't help but be once again amazed of their bond and the power they held over the significant other. 

Then with a grunt you couldn't quite place, he turned to you again.

"You'll use our Den Den Mushi and give your captain a call. Tell him, I'm interested, but will only seal the deal with him not with his...", he left the sentence unfinished, a dirty grin curling upon his face. 

"His nakama.", you said coldly.

"Whatever, fishstick."

You wanted to punch him.

Really wanted to.

Your feelings obviously were written on your face, because Birdie cackled and punched her lovers side, chiding him in a mocking tone.

"Leave her alone. They're just friends. At least for now."

Striking your last thought, you decided that you would come not only for him alone, but for the both of them. 

Someday.

For now you allowed Birdie to lead you to the ships galley, followed by Kid and Killer.

You had a call to make.

***

Not too far away, right below the towns hall, the islands ruler was fuming.

Don Dandolo was a bald, broad, middle-aged man with small eyes and the tendency to crack his knuckles whenever he was nervous or angry. 

Right now he was furious. 

For hours he had tried to call Donquichotte Doflamingo to let him know about his plan to wipe out the Kid Pirates, but we wasn't getting through. 

Then his secretary had told him that a group of his men had been found dead in front of their favourite pub. 

When the sole survivor of this seemingly random shoot-out arrived, all broken and battered, Dandolo had considered killing him on the spot for his weakness. But then the poor guy had started yelling about a monstrous mermaid they had wanted to gift him and a mysterious female bird-faced sharpshooter, who had wiped out everyone except for him.

"A fake mermaid and a female sharpshooter with the face of a bird, you say?", the baron of Carnival island raised his bushy lilac brows in disbelief.

"Y-Yes, boss. The mermaid, s-she transformed right in front of us. I've never seen one do that. A-And that other bitch. She, she shot the others faster than I could muster. Her nose looked like a birds beak covered in blood. I tell you, they're both monsters.", his underling whimpered, his whole body shaking at the memory.

Clicking his tongue at the cowardness in front of him, Dandolo shook his head.

"How much alcohol did you drink, you fool? Do you think I can't smell the beer in your foul breath? Sober up, then we'll speak."

"B-But it's true! And there was that guy in the devils costume! He-He's a member of the Kid Pirates!! They've just landed on this island today! He helped the bird-bitch by carrying off the mermaid. I-I p-pretended to be dead and escaped when they were out of sight. I'd swear every oath, that she's the sharpshooter you're looking for. The ex-marine, who's now spreading her legs for Eustass Kid!"

At this desperate yell coming from the others lips, the Don stopped in his tracks.

"The Kid Pirates' sharpshooter?", he asked, unable to hide his delight.

Could luck finally be on his side for today?

"Guards? Get this poor man something to eat and send a maid to tend to his wounds immediately. He's brought vital information and deserves a proper reward."

As his orders echoed through the elegant walls of his office, Dandolos joyous laughter was only accompanied by the gleeful praises of his henchman.

Only two hours later Don Dandolo knew everything he needed about the latest visitors on his beautiful island. 

Pirates were welcomed on Carnival, since they brought enough money to keep business running and flourishing. 

Most of them knew that its leader lived under the wings of the Donquixote, minding their business only with one another and not seeking any trouble. 

And now the sea had brought a very special pirate crew along.

Dandolo happily rubbed his hands.


	6. Day II - Alliance with the beast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT
> 
> This chapter features a few hints to another work by AbyssCronica. Namely "Just for tonight". Its setting I won't touch in general, since it plays after Birdie meeting Law in Wano, but as y'all of you know, my work ain't no canon for Cronicas stories.
> 
> I JUST COULDN'T RESIST THIS PARTICULAR SHOT AND ITS AWFULLY GOOD IDEA :3 *hrhrhr* 
> 
> Ah, well figures. 
> 
> Now go and enjoy the next chapter of this story. :)

While Don Dandolo started to happily prepare himself for his hopefully greatest coup ever, you put the Kid Pirates' Den Den Mushi back to sleep.

You had made the call, Eustass had ordered you to make and were now watching the fuming redhead.

The final exchange of words between him and your captain still lingering in the air.

_"One more thing, Eustass-ya. Mermaid-ya has stirred up quite the ruckus in town, let her stay on your ship until we come to pick her up."_

_You could've sworn, you could hear the smirk in his voice, only to bite back a giggle when the leader of the Kid Pirates had grabbed the speaker from your hand and had yelled straight into it._

_"DO I LOOK LIKE A FUCKING BABYSITTER?!"_

_Chewing on your lower lip, you really had expected steam coming from his nostrils within the next few seconds._

_But no such thing had happened._

_Law had waited until his future alliance-partner had stopped his tirade, before he had stated._

_"We'll see you and your men at sunset, Eustass-ya. "_

_Kid had motioned to smash the poor innocent snails speaker, but Birdie had quickly taken the device from him, only to hand it back to you._

_Quickly you had bid your captain farewell, before ending the call._

Replaying this event in your mind helped you to calm yourself. 

You hadn't considered that your captain would order you to stay with the other crew and a part of you was quite upset about it.

What if they decided to blow the alliance-to-be and sold you to a human shop?

What if they simply killed you? 

But the other, stronger part of your mind told you, that Laws plans were always set up carefully. 

He probably had a very good reason to leave you in the hands of the Kid pirates for the time being.

Plus there was still Birdie.

Deep down you knew that this peculiar yet utterly fascinating woman neither meant you harm nor would she allow you to get hurt. 

There was a strange connection you felt towards her. 

Maybe because both of your destinies had pulled you from your usual lives, only to throw you to the side of a man, whom you had never even dared to imagine in your life.

"Oi, angelfish!"

The voice of the same woman now made you look up again and see her standing next to her lover, a broad grin on her pretty face. 

"Yeah?", you asked.

"You're my job now."

With that she stepped forward and grabbed your hand, pulling you along and out of the room.

Completely confused by her words, you followed her without much resistance as she led you through the men, throwing in a name here and there. 

"You don't need to be afraid of them. Not as long as you're mine to take care off. Kid considered locking you up, but let's say, I convinced him, he can do that to Law, once he gets his hands on him."

Once again stunned by her brazeness, you decided to not imagine both of your captains at each others throats. 

"Oi, Birdie! Are you really babysitting Law's goldfish now?"

A man whom Birdie had called "Mohican" before waved at your new guard, who replied to his question by flashing him a cheeky grin.

"Sure. I bet you're just jealous, she's not been put under your care."

The pirate snorted, deciding to not give her the pleasure of seeing him react to her teasing. Instead he moved his attention to you and approached.

"Your poster doesn't do you justice, mermaid. You look way too innocent in real life.", he said, taking a close look at you.

"Courtesy of the cameras. They didn't think me important enough to send Attach after me back then.", you replied dryly, but you knew he was right.

The picture used for your wanted posters was a close up of your face, your eyes no longer showing their natural colour, but glowing in a hue of silver. Spatters of blood on your cheeks, your mouth agape in a manical hiss. You truely looked terrifying. Like the monster the World Government had proclaimed you to be.

"Birdie! Wait! We wanna see the mermaid! Don't keep her all to yourself."

"Right! I've never seen one before either."

A few more pirates approached you and their captains beloved, who chuckled at the eagerness of the men to come and meet the mermaid of the Heart pirates. 

The biggest among them couldn't wipe the grin from his face as he came to a halt in front of Birdie and you.

"Look at you, little siren. What a cutie you are. That bastard Law is a lucky man.", he said.

"Booka! I thought you were into women with big knockers and bums so broad they'd pass as a raggedy couch when they bend down to pick something up.", a younger man shouted with a snicker.

"You shut up, you whelp. Lay a woman first, little virgin, then we speak again."

A howl of laughter accompanied the giants words, while the youngster simply showed the older man his middlefingers.

You couldn't help but laugh at this bickering, since it reminded you of your first days among your crew. Back then many of the Heart pirates had tripped over themselves to make you smile and to make you feel comfortable among them. 

Much to your embarassment and to their captains quiet amusement. 

Of course the Kid pirates were a wilder and more vulgar bunch, but seeing them so "friendly" was nonetheless thrilling.

You had heard horrid stories about their cruelty and bloodlust and you didn't make the mistake to take them for lies, but for now you felt yourself relaxing quite a bit.

"You don't speak much though.", a blue-haired, zombie-like looking man said.

"It's just a lot to take in right now.", you replied, unconciously holding onto Birdies hand, which replied your move with a gentle squeeze, before ruffling your hair with her free hand.

"There, there, angelfish. Why don't you show these big idiots, what you're really made of?", she said, a mischevious glint in her eyes.

Raising a brow at her, you let out a snort, realising why she had volunteered to have an eye on you.

"Sly birdie. You just want to see more water manipulation, don't you? That's why you decided to be my "babysitter" as your captain has put it before."

Forming a victory-sign with the middle and pointer finger of her free hand, she happily confirmed your suspicions.

"Ugh. Fine. But I'm not taking any responsibilty for anyone of you getting wet in the process.", you agreed only to suffer from the unnoticed innuendo in your reply.

"Don't worry. You'd need to do far more to get me wet. Plus I don't dare you to, Eustass doesn't like sharing."

Roars of laughter and applause from the men followed Birdies frivolous remark.

Rolling your eyes, you ignored them and stepped towards the railing.

Luckily water manipulation in your human form didn't stress your body as much as when you did it in your mermaid form.

If they wanted to see something, you'd give them something to see.

Closing your eyes you slowly turned your right hands palm to the sky, before raising your arm carefully.

To the wonder and excitement of your audience, a pillar of sea water followed your command as you beckoned it closer to you. Bending it to your will, you let it fly throught the air, before parting it into two halves, which you then made forming various figures like a dancing fountain. 

From afar you could also see that your little show had drawn the attention of Kid himself as well as his second in command.

Feeling bold, you asked for a volunteer, whom you dared to walk on water. 

When nobody stepped forward, you playfully pouted at your new supervisor.

"You told me how brave your nakama are, Birdie-san. Where's their bravery now?"

"I do it! Think you can handle me, little one?"

Booka made his way to you, obviously dead set on wanting to prove you wrong.

Your eyes widened.

Keeping him up of all those men would cost you a whole lot of focus. 

But you wouldn't back down. 

Not now.

"Be my guest, big bear.", you replied, giving the broad man a new nickname.

"Ha, ha! Booka? A bear? Well at least he's hairy like one.", a bald pirate yelled from the crowd.

"At least I have well trimmed chesthair! You're just angry, that you're as smooth as a baboons ass!", Booka hollered, before turning to you "Alright, let's go. Do your thing."

Nodding you asked the other men to make some more room for the two of you before you raised both of your arms, summoning two large pillars of water, which rose to the sky like a pair of snakes awaiting your command. Just like you had done before, you also called these two closer, before they lowered their top parts in front of Booka. 

"Step right onto the water and don't worry. You won't sink.", you told the pirate, who was eyeing the pillars with suspicion. 

"If this goes wrong, you owe me big time, mermaid.", he replied only to take a deep breath and step forward.

A surprised yell flew from his lips, when his feet didn't get wet but seemed to be held up by the water. 

"This is amazing!"

"Bloody awesome!"

"Go Booka!"

"Do some more, mermaid!"

"I wanna try it too!"

Amused you called to the large man, happily jumping on the waters surface like a big child.

"Ready for the next stage?", you asked.

"Sure! Hit it!"

Booka rubbed his hands, ready to explore more of your powers first hand.

"Right, how about this then?"

With a smirk, you commanded the pillars to rise up again, much to Bookas dismay, who didn't feel as safe as before.

"Woah! Easy there, little mermaid. There's still so much I have yet to do.", he said, trying his best to not show how nervous he was.

"Trust me!", you shouted, letting the water grow bigger and bigger, until it had reached the height of the crows nest, where you gently disposited the Kid pirate.

Raising his arms, a relieved Booka waved at his comrades happily, who cheered him as if he had just found the One Piece.

Immediately afterwards you were surrounded by many more members of the crew, who asked you to have them riding the pillars. 

To see those usually bloodthirsty and fearsome pirates behaving like a bunch of excited kids definitely was something else. 

You fullfilled their wishes for as long as your bodys feelings would allow you.

But in the end it was your growling stomach, which put an end to their joy.

"Sounds like a game over to me.", Birdie said.

"Can I get something to eat?", you asked her with a shy smile after you had ordered the water pillars to retreat back to the ocean. 

"Sure, but you might want to wait a little longer. Seems like your captain has come to pick you up."

Kids lover pointed over your shoulder.

Turning around you saw your crew approaching the Victoria Punk. 

When they saw you standing on the railing many waved at you, like Bepo, Penguin and Shachi.

Their faces told you how relieved they were to see you well and alive.

Smiling you waved back, only to stop when your eyes met the grey ones of your captain.

A small smirk on Trafalgar Laws lips was the only reaction to your wellbeing, before his eyes set back ahead.

Giving you a light jab with her elbow, Birdie grinned.

"He likes you."

"What makes you think that?", you sighed.

"Believe me, he does. I know him better than you think I do."

The last sentence of hers made the fine hair on your skin tingle. 

During a party a few months ago, you and the Heart pirates other female member, Ikkaku, had helped a very drunk Clione back to his room. He had rambled around and around only to then joke about a rumor that had wandered among the men for quite a long time by then.

_"The captain,hrm, and Eustass, hrm, Kid maybe r-rivals f-for m-most of the time, but during this one occasion, w-waaay before you joined us, they were q-quite the opposite. The-ey and Eustass' wo-o-man sp-spent the ni-i-ght to-to-ge-ge-ther. Mus-st h-have been quite a night. N-Never saw the captain, hrm, tired before. B-But n-nobody knows why."_

Ikkaku had scoffed at him before she had shoved him into his bed, telling him to shut and to sober up.

After you had left you had mused, if what he had said was actually true, but then added, that in the end, it was their business after all.

To your chargrin, your crewmate had teased you on the whole way back to your room about being too innocent to live amongst pirates.

You had stuck your tongue at her, hissing that you were not innocent at all.

Plus if your captain wanted to, he could have had three threesomes in a row, whereever and with whomever he wanted.

But a tiny part of you had regretted that he wouldn't consider you as a suitable partner.

You could definitely see why he had considered Birdie suitable.

Hell, you even kind of got why he might have been interested in Eustass Kid.

"He told you about us having a threesome?"

Birdies surprised question hit you in the guts like a Yagara Bull on the loose.

Even without seeing it, you could feel your face turn into a tomato. 

_Curse my stupid tongue!_ , you thought, averting your gaze and shaking your head.

"O-Only overheard my nakama talking. I-It's none of my business though, I-I mean, i-it's been your decision after all. Not that I envy you, no, I even think, you guys are l-lucky. I-I mean as a doc-"

"You're rambling, angelfish. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but it's true."

"O-Oh, n-no! Please! Don't! Don't be sorry. I...I just... ugh fine. I envy you. I have the hots for my captain despite me trying to keep it professional as a captain and his nakama. I feel like I'm the biggest fool on earth, but I keep telling myself I.. argh!!! I'm rambling again. Sorry."

Hanging your head low, you wiped your face with one hand.

Not only had you just confessed your biggest secret to a member of a rival crew.

No, you had taken it to a whole new level by confessing to one of the two persons, you knew, whom had shared your captains bed.

The soft laugh next to you only added to your embarassment, until a warm hand gently rubbed over your back.

"No need to be sorry, angelfish. If I was in your shoes, I'd feel just the same. Maybe I'd deal with it in a different way, but feeling like this in your position, it's normal.", she stated only to add "As you know, Eustass and I didn't start off too well either."

Nodding again, you showed her a wry smile and thanked her quietly for her compassion.

"Now how about this? First we'll join the others and see to this alliance coming to pass and then", she paused with a sly smile "Then we'll tackle that little issue of yours."

"Sure, wait what?"

With wide eyes you followed the cackling sharpshooter, who happily pulled you along to join the others. Deep down you prayed, she'd forget it during the negotiations.

As it seemed you had been the current topic of these, because the men made way for Birdie and you. 

"Speak of the devil, here comes your little pet, Law."

Eustass Kid smirked at his woman, who led you to your captain. Both of them watched your nod in Laws direction, who took in your appearance carefully but quietly.

When you wanted to join the ranks of your nakama though, his left hand found your wrist, stopping you in your tracks and making you stay by his side.

"You used your powers to entertain them?", he asked.

"Yes captain. They treated me well, so I conceded to their wish of seeing my powers."

His thumb found your wrists pulsepoint.

"Any backlashes?"

"No captain."

"Good."

For the briefest moved his thumb brushed over your skin, then he let go of you, but motioned for you to stay by his side.

"Thanks for not killing my envoy. Eustass-ya.", he said to his rival, whose amber eyes had taken in the little scene in front of him.

Darkred lips curled into a wicked smile. 

"Envoy? Tsk, whatever gets you going, Law. But yes, not even a scale missing, as you can see."

The two leaders exchanged a few glances, but your captain didn't react to the innuendo Kid had thrown at him.

"Have you considered my offer?", he asked instead.

"Sticking to business, huh? Fine, I did. But if you try to lure me into Doflamingos clutches with this plan of yours, I'll annihilate you and your crew on the spot. I'm not doing this for your sake", the redhead replied, his left arm possessively wrapping itself around Birdie, who had taken her place next to him.

"Same counts for you and your men, should you try to sell us out to Doflamingo or his puppy Dandolo."

Yellow orbs flickered at grey ones with amusement.

"It's a deal then."

***

The birth of this new alliance was celebrated with tons of food and fountains of alcohol. The Heart pirates had contributed quite a bunch of their supplies, but to prove that they weren't lacking anything either, the Kid pirates had plundered their pantry. 

Plates filled with grilled meat of all kinds, vegetables and fruits as well as various bottles and barrels of liquor, beer and other beverages found their way into the bellies of the partying crews. 

Music was played and you happily watched Birdie being waltzed around the dancefloor by her nakama. They had pulled her from your side as soon as the music had started, only to do the same with you.

Right now you were dancing with Booka, who clearly enjoyed dodging poor Bepo, whom you had promised your next dance to.

When the tall Kid Pirate finally let you go, you threw yourself into the white bears arms, who happily hugged you back.

"We were all worried sick for you, mermaid-chan.", he said, before nodding towards the direction in which you knew Law was currently positoned. "Even the captain got nervous when sunset approached, though I was the only one to notice it. I could smell the worry all over him."

"I'm fine, Bepo. He wouldn't have sent me to them, if he wasn't one-hundred percent sure, that I'd make it out alive.", you replied with a small smile.

"The captain cares about you, mermaid-chan. You're not just anyone for him anymore. You're-"

The mink stopped, when he saw your pained expression.

"Please don't Bepo. Don't bring this up now. I know your intentions are good, but I... I'm sorry. I don't think he sees me that way, I told Birdie just the same earlier."

When the song ended you gently padded his soft cheeks with both your hands before turning your back to him and returning to your seat, where you decided to spend the rest of the evening with some nice bottles of red wine. 

Your actions and behavior were watched by the white mink, who jumped in a sudden scare, when a small hand patted his overall-clad left arm.

"Ah! Birdie-san!", he gasped, when the petite woman waved at him.

"One can only watch so much of her trying to fool herself, huh?"

Little dots of black widened at her, then Bepo looked at you gathering two new bottles and sighed deeply.

"Aye. I just wish I could get them together. The whole crew is waiting for it, but nobody dares to try setting them up, because we don't want to end up being cut into pieces by the captain.", he explained only to be rewarded by an amused snicker.

"Lucky us then. You spoke my heart there and it's a great thing, that I'm neither afraid of Law nor his powers."

At these words of hers, Bepos formerly sad face lit up. 

"So, you're suggesting we should join hands in this?", he asked with glee.

Birdie just smirked.

Completely unaware of their little conspiracy, you kept refilling your glass and sipping your wine.

Just when you had downed the third one halfway, your attention was brought to Law, who was watching you. His eyes told you to stop drinking, but you decided that just this once, you would ignore him and indulge yourself with a hearty night of partying, delicious food and fine drinks. After all it had been quite a long time since the Heart pirates had last thrown a party.

Thinking Law would turn away at your childish behaviour, you reached out for the bottle of rum, which you had been considering to drink for the last few minutes. Just when your fingers were about to close themselves around it, a tattooed hand pulled it out of your reach.

Following its unwelcomed movement away from you, you met the cloud-coloured eyes of your captain.

He didn't need to say a word to let you know what he wanted to tell you.

When he raised a brow at you, your pout turned into a giggle, emboldened by the alcohol cursing through your veins.

"You spoil my fun, captain. I've earned this.", you accused him.

Mirroring his gaze without averting yours, you got onto your feet and stepped towards him. Despite the two and a half bottles of booze you still walked straight. You owed that to your former colleagues at the lab, who had greeted every weekend and every successful discovery with a proper party. To get rid of the weekly stress you had participated each time, owning you the reputation of being able to put away quite a fair bit of alcohol.

And you knew, that Law knew this as well.

"Stop being such a spoilsport. I risked my life to get this done, so a little drink is the least I should get.", you insisted, only to be interrupted by Birdie, who strode into your direction.

"There she is. The woman I was looking for.",she laughed.

You saluted her playfully, only to then point an accusing finger at your superior.

"Talk to him! He's taken away my rum and won't give it back.", you replied with a scowl.

Clicking her tongue at the black-haired male, the sharpshooter held out another bottle of rum to you.

"Leave him be. He just wants to tease you. Come along, I really want to test your mettle. Your nakama are no match for me, but they insist, you'd be able to kick my ass in a drinking contest."

And with that she took hold of your hand, making a move to lead you away, when a warm hand took hold of your other hand. 

"I wouldn't take her on, mermaid-ya."

Laws warm fingers didn't budge when you stared down on them in disbelief.

You opened your mouth to tell him off, when drunken cheers and whistles were heard. A small crowd consisting of several members from both pirate crews had watched the little scene between the three of you. From your position you saw, that even Eustass Kid himself was watching with a devilish smile on his face.

"Just let her battle it out with Birdie-san, captain. She'll defend our honor!", a tipsy Uni shouted from beneath his scarf. 

Shachi and Penguin, who held onto each other for support, cheered to his words, raising their tankards into your direction and shouting.

"Go for it mermaid-chan! Show them we're no slouches!"

But Law still didn't budge and held you back.

Just as Birdie and her accomplices had predicted him to.

With a sly smile Kids paramour turned towards him.

"Afraid she might like me more than you, hm?"

His brows furrowed at her daring question.

"Don't interprete things you know nothing about, little bird.", he said as calm as possible, but the way his grip tightened around your wrist spoke volumes.

The whole evening he had watched you from the corner of his eyes. Seeing you alive and kicking had been a relief to him, yet witnessing some of the Kid pirates tripping over themselves to win your attention stirred something new inside of him.

A tiny demon called - jealousy.

And now Birdie was pricking on said feeling with obvious delight, when she used the opportunity to counter his words.

"I only speak about what I saw. Your eyes have wandered to her every time you thought nobody would notice, especially when our or your men danced with her. Always knew you're a bashful one when it comes to affection, Trafalgar. It's kinda cute though." A short pause followed, then she added. "Yet I'm still gonna make you share her with me. For now. You can carry her back to your subway later, because I'm not going to lose to your woman."

Now that triggered your pride.

"Who said, you're going to win this, huh?! I'll knock your ass out, Birdie!", you hissed, now being the one who pulled her along towards the crowd who made room for you. 

Little did you know, you were so going to regret this.

***

"AAAND OUR BIRDIE WINS! BUT THE MERMAID WAS A TOUGH RIVAL! NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE ANOTHER WOMAN DOWN HER BOOZE LIKE THAT!"

Bookas drunk yell was the last thing you heard, while the last thing you saw, was her talking to your captain, before making her way to Eustass Kid, who declared the party to be over.

When your world turned sideways, your arm was pulled around a pair of shoulders, your nostrils breathing in a familiar scent.

Law had come to your side to hold you up and to lead you away from the Victoria Punk and back to the Polar Tang.

"M-Meh, I lost.", you hiccuped as you leaned against him after your feet had touched stable ground again.

A chuckle you couldn't quite place, was heard.

"Told you so, mermaid-ya. Now let's get you on Bepos back."

"Nah, don't wanna. You smell too amazing.. can I hold onto you? Just a little longer?"

Hugging the lean body next to you, you smiled with your eyes closed. 

Law's body went rigid. 

Tonight you were truely testing him.

Of course you'd never behave like that if you weren't drunk, but for now there was nothing to be done about it.

Deciding to not argue with you tonight, he simply wrapped your arms around his neck and put your legs over his left arm, while his right one supported your back.

When he saw some of his men open their mouths to comment his actions, he shot them a warning look.

"Not a word guys. Not. A. Word.", it said.

And like that, he moved on, carrying you in his arms, while you held onto him as sleep took over.


	7. Day III - Akward positions

_The walk back to the Polar Tang had been joyous for most members of the crew._

__

__

_Many were drunk and kept singing silly songs, jumping and hopping around while the islands' nightlife was still going at full speed._

__

__

_Actually the party never truely stopped._

_Trafalgar Law though was happy about the end of their party with the Kid Pirates. Especially since he was carrying one of its results in his arms._

_You had woken up again in the meantime, still holding onto him, because you insisted to love the scent of his cologne so much._

_"Seriously, I don't know what this stuff is, but I could eat you right up.", you giggled and took a deep whiff on his hoodie-covered shoulder._

_Your capatin didn't make a comment on your statement._

_You were far too gone to be still reasonable._

_Therefore he kept looking forward and hoped you would quickly get bored of talking without getting a reply._

_But you didn't do him that favour_

__

__

_Instead you even went a step further by letting your arms drop from around his neck, reaching out and pulling his hat from his head only to put it onto your own._

_"How comfy! I always knew it's plushy and warm. Now I can finally try it myself.", you happily exclaimed._

_Tipsy snickers were heard from the crew._

_Seeing Law and you like this was absolutely adorable, especially since your captain was now trying to get the stolen item back from you._

_"Give me my hat back.", he asked you calmly, but you didn't relent._

_"Nah. Only if I get something else instead."_

_A wicked grin formed on your lips._

_"At a loss for words, oh captain, my captain?", you sang, only to feel his grip on your body tighten._

_"If you weren't drunk right now, I'd make you pay right here and right now.", the black-haired man hissed._

_"Sooo scared of you right now. Maybe I should get drunk more often and quarrel with you then."_

_Patting his front gently, you giggled at the thought._

_"Please don't. I prefer your sober self a lot more.", he replied._

_"No, no! That's a lie and you know it."_

_Pouting, you puckered your lips, the sight of it causing Law to chuckle._

_"Why should I lie?"_

_Removing his hat from your head and putting it back on his, you crossed your arms in front of your chest._

_"Because you enjoy teasing me way too much! Because you love to vex me with your twisted way of showing that you somehow care for me. And I-"_

_Laws eyes widened, when you fell asleep again in the midst of your rant. Your body having obviously drained its final ressources. His grey eyes followed you into your dreams._

***

You stirred.

Sunlight fell straight onto your face, tickling the tip of your nose yet not powerful enough to convince you to get up.

Turning around you pulled your blankets tighter around you, inhaling deep and stirring at the smell of them.

This definitely wasn't the smell of your blankets.

A mixture of coffee, pine and a hint of desinfectants.

You knew this scent well enough to guess in whose bed you were lying.

Your eyes opened instantly.

Blurred lines took shape when you rubbed a hand over your face. 

As slowly as possible you sat up in the foreign bed and took in your unusual surroundings.

A clean yet comfortable room with mostly grey, white or light-coloured wooden furniture. Shelves filled with various books. A desk filled with papers, more books and pens. 

This room definitely belonged to Trafalgar Law.

Despite your hangover throwing all its might at you, you wormed your way to the edge of the bed you had been sleeping in. It was only when you moved down your feet, so that they touched the ground, that you noticed the clothes, which were strewn across the floor haphazardly. 

Obviously they had been taken off in a hurry. 

"Oh shit!", you breathed only to take a quick peek below the blanket you were still holding against your body.

You wore a black-sleeved, yellow hoodie with a too familiar jolly roger on its front. 

His hoodie.

Dropping the blanket from your grip, you pulled at the hoodies front and frantically checked, if you were naked beneath it.

To your relief your black strapless bra was still there and as you fidgeted, you felt that your lower half was still covered by your silken black panties.

But your shirt and your shorts were gone.

Someone had undressed you and you already knew who you had to suspect. 

The sound of a door opening made you turn your still aching head.

You covered your eyes immediately.

Your body wasn't ready for this view so early after waking up.

Yet couldn't say it was a disappointing one.

Trafalgar Law had emerged from his private bathroom, shirtless and rubbing his black tresses with a towel.

His well-trained upper body on full display, tattoos and defined abs included.

A pained mewl fell from your lips before you could prevent it and pulled his attention towards you.

"Finally awake, hm?"

Nodding you didn't dare to look at him. 

_This is so humiliating!_ , you internally cursed, while your treacherous mind kept yelling at you how hot your captain was. _Fuck it! You've seen him shirtless before! Get a fucking grip! Pull yourself together and walk out of this like a professional! There's no reason to worry, since you very likely didn't sleep WITH him, but only in his bed!_

Shuffling around, while you kept a hand up to block him from your view, you tried to get up and onto your still wobbly legs.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you, [Y/n]."

[Y/n].

Not mermaid-ya.

"Ugh.", you gargled as a sudden rush of heat went down your spine.

Why was he using your bloody name?

Why was he coming towards you?

Why was your heart beating so fast and why for fucks sake were your naked thighs clenching so desperately right now?

Quickly you covered your face with both hands, only leaving a small gap for you to peek through.

_I'm behaving like a freaking virgin after she learned that the guy she's got the hots for popped her cherry just a few hours before!_

The soft grip of two stronger hands prying away your covers, made your face heat up.

Stormcoloured eyes met yours for the briefest moment, then a smirk curled his lips.

"At a loss for words, huh? What a difference to last night. Took me quite a while to shut you up.", he said, his hands now carefully cupping your face.

"L-Last n-night-t?", you squeaked only to rewarded with a chuckle.

"So you don't remember anything?"

Law took a look at your eyes, which didn't show any sign of being bloodshot. As he continued to check your face for any hints of damage by your hangover, his thumb grazed your cheekbone and your breath hitched again.

"N-No. I-I only remember you carrying me and ... how I took your hat.", you mumbled.

You didn't want to validate whether your dream was a true memory or just a drunken image owed to the booze you had consumed.

Two fingers of Laws right hand, the ones bearing the "E" and the "A", rested on your pulse point. 

Right on the middle of your neck.

The warmth radiating from them made your whole body shiver. 

His gaze went to your eyes, which had glued themselves to his upper body, studying the intricate lines of his heart-shaped front tattoo. 

"You're staring. Seeing something you like?"

It was the simplicity of his statement that made you bite your lip.

Despite yourself being torn about it, you decided to ask him.

At first you struggled on how to address him properly, but then decided to go by his first name, since he had done the same with you.

"Ca-, Tra-, Law."

You took a deep breath.

"What am I doing in your room and in your bed?"

Letting go of your face, Law stood up.

"You slept here, because I couldn't get you to let go of me."

"B-But why didn't you cut my arms off with your skills? You could have easily reassembled them again.", you asked with wide eyes.

"I considered it, but then I saw that your room was occupied. Ikkaku had taken it, since Bepo had fallen asleep in hers. I couldn't let you sleep with the other men, so I had to take you here."

"I-I see. Thank you. I hope I wasn't too much of a disturbance."

Scratching your head you gave him a wry smile.

Sitting down next to you after he put on a spare hoodie, Trafalgar side-eyed you.

"You don't snore, if that's what you mean. But you're a god-damn octopus, woman!"

Immediately you buried your face in your hands with a pained groan.

You were known for sleeping in the weirdest positions.

But the fact that you had made your captain a witness of it, was humiliating.

The man next to you watched your reaction with amusement. It was a more than fitting payback for the teasing you had brought upon him the day before. But he wasn't done with you yet. 

"Your clothes are dry now, if you want you can go change in the bathroom.", he offered nonchalantly, breaking the silence between you.

Raising your head, you quickly nodded, mumbled your thanks and got up as carefully as you could.

Stepping past your still sitting captain, you didn't notice his eyes trailing along your petite silhouette.

"Didn't know you like Doskoi Panda, [Y/n]."

You halted your steps and glared at him over your shoulder, while your hands involuntarily covered your buttocks. 

Right in the middle of your panties backpart sat the logo of your favourite brand.

A big, fat panda.

"Who gave you the permission to check out my underwear?"

A tiny bit of yesterdays boldness raised within you as you turned around.

The sight of your angry, flushed face made Trafalgar laugh. 

Frustration made you huff. 

"You're so... ugh!"

Throwing your hands in the air, you noticed the hoodie you were still wearing and decided to get rid of it as quickly as possible.

You would later blame it on the leftover alcohol in your blood, but you stripped out of the hoodie, leaving you clad in your bra and panties and threw the piece of clothing straight into his face. Yet Law caught it before it could hit him.

"You throw like a girl.", he stated, a devious spark in his eyes.

"You would know.", you replied, stomping into the bathroom and getting your clothes, only to emerge with the items still in your arms.

It was time to get out of here and go back to professionalism at once.

This would soon be considered a one-time-coincidence.

By tomorrow everything would go back to normal.

"Where are you going?"

Surprised Law raised his brows.

"Back to my room. Thanks for your hospitality, but I've been occupying you far too long by now."

With that you reached for the doorknob, far too immersed in your thoughts on how to cover up last night to notice that it was about to be opened from the other side.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Law had noticed.

In the next moment you were pulled away from the door, sending your clothes flying through the air and landing onto the ground. Before you could muster what had happened, your still half-naked body was covered by the blanket you had let go of just a few minutes before and pressed against your captains front. 

"Don't come in!"

The command shouted by the "Surgeon of Death" revebarated through your body.

"S-Sorry captain, they just asked me to let you guys know that breakfast is ready.", Shachis voiced said through the door.

"We'll join you soon. Go ahead and start the preparations for todays mission.", Law ordered.

"Aye captain!"

Quickly the other mans footsteps were moving away from the door to his leaders room.

When they could no longer be heard, you wiggled in Trafalgars arms to free yourself, only to stagger forward and send him along with yourself straight onto his bed.

Lying halfway on top of him you let out a yowl.

"Akward positon number three for today."

Laws dry comment didn't help to brighten your mood.

"Let's not talk about it.", you groaned, rolling off of him, taking up your clothes and hopping into the bathroom.

As the door closed behind you, the male sat up and listened to you rummaging around in the other room. 

_So much for akward positions._ , he thought and remembered how he had gotten you into his cabin.

Definitely nothing he would tell you too soon, though.

***

_Asleep and totally exhausted you had hung in his arms until he had placed you onto his bed._

_Feeling the softness of the mattress below you, you had woken up long enough to strip yourself of your clothes and to toss them aside._

_Compeletely ignoring the fact who was with you in that moment._

_Completetly ignoring the bottle of water you had struck down by throwing your shorts._

_Instead of noticing the mess you had fallen face down onto the bed._

_How he had been able to give you some decency by putting one of his hoodies on you, Law didn't remember._

_Afterwards he had thrown his clothes, except for his boxers, into the hamper and your wet ones into the dryer, before joining you._

_To his amusement you had curled yourself into a ball, hugging his second pillow with the blanket draped over your lower body._

_In order to not disturb you, he had slipped into the cushions and stretched out. Sleep had quickly come to him, despite having a new person sleeping next to him._

_What had woken him up in the middle of the night, had been the warmth of your body. In your dreams you had rolled over, your right leg thrown over his front, your bosom pressed against his side and your warm breath caressing his skin. First he had tried to push you back as gently as possible, but when you had returned again and again, he had accepted his fate. And if he was honest, he had shared his bed with less pleasant partners before._

_Your body was shaped nicely, fitting against his in a comfortable way. Despite the alcohol you had consumed, your body still had smelled of the bodywash you had used._

_A light fragrance of ginger and lemon lingering on your skin._

_He knew its smoothness well after having treated you more than once._

_His musings had stopped when you had readjusted your position, moving closer to him, having your bosom graze the side of his chest, while your right lower leg had entangled itself with his right one. As if that hadn't been enough, he had felt the hardened buds of your breasts right through the cloth of your borrowed hoodie. The realisation and the soft, sleepy moan of comfort falling from your lips had sent all blood in his body straight to his loins. In the end he had taken care of that problem with a cold shower of 30 minutes in order to avoid you waking up by the feeling of his hard-on pressing against your upper thigh. Afterwards he had found back to his dreams, facing you in his slumber yet with your bodies disentangled for safety measures._

***

Pulling himself away from yesterdays events, he heard the bathrooms door open. You emerged with your clothes on and your hair tied up into a messy bun.

It had grown quite a few inches since you had joined his crew. 

Quietly you approached him.

"Thanks again for yesterday. I'll go get some fresh clothes and join you guys at breakfast later."

And before he could stop you, you left the room.


	8. Day III - Plan in motion

Todays breakfast felt akward.

At least for the crew.

While you had decided to skip it for some research about Don Dandolos hideout, your captain had joined his nakama and focused on eating his onigiri as usual.

At first nobody dared to ask him about how you had left his room in an obvious hurry and with a face as red as a tomato, but then Bepo asked about your whereabouts. 

"I'm here."

Your calm voice made the whole crew turn their heads, seeing you enter the dining room. Flashing them a friendly smile, you grabbed an apple as well as two onigiris from the buffet and sat down next to Ikkaku, who had made room for you on the bench. Watching as you happily dug into your food, her eyes wandered along your form.

"You ok?", she asked.

"Sure, why not? I first wanted to skip breakfast, but felt that it would do no good to my hangover. So I came here to grab something light.", you said after you had finished the first riceball filled with spicy carrots.

"That's good. We were all worried you might have felt...", looking for the right word the brunette made a vague gesture with her hand to emphazise you throwing up.

"Sore.", Clione offered, but the dreaded looks on his nakamas faces made him correct his choice "Sick. I wanted to say sick."

Licking your thumb in between munches on your second onigiri, you raised your brows at him.

The poor pirate in front of you was suddenly very occupied with his bacon and fried rice. 

"What's the matter this morning?", you asked Shachi, who kept chewing on his own breakfast.

It was only when you noticed his eyes wandering between you and Law, who had gotten up to hand his used dishes to Hisomeru, the masked chef of your crew, that it finally dawned upon you.

"Seriously? You guys think we did it last night, just because I slept in his room?!", you hissed between gritted teeth as soon as your captain had left the room.

Penguin, who had just taken a sip of his coffee, spurted it back into his mug. 

Gigi, the IT-expert with the double braids in his long brown hair, readjusted his yellow cap, before raising his hands at you.

"Whoa there, mermaid-ya. Calm down. It's not like there's nothing going on between the captain and you."

Your brows furrowed and and for a moment you considered summoning some water from the sink in order to wash these stupid ideas from their brains, but then you realised that there was actually some twisted truth in the mans statement.

Huffing loudly through your nostrils, you took up your apple with one hand and gathered your dirty plate in the other.

"Get your minds out of the gutter. I just slept in his bed and so did he, nothing else happened. Go ask him yourselves, I dare ya!"

With that you took a hearty bite and walked over to Hisomeru, who thanked the gods above for his mask, so you couldn't see his amused grin at your reaction. As soon as you had left the room and the door had fallen closed behind you, the crew burst into loud discussions.

"I don't believe it? He actually turned her down?"

"Nah, I wouldn't say that. Have you noticed the glances they exchanged. It's been like they had been waiting for us to say something stupid!"

"Argh, don't make me think about it. Either the captain would've cut us to pieces or she would have pulled some dirty tricks with her water magic."

Leaning with your back against the door you listened to them for a while and finished the red fruit in your hand. When just the core casing was left, you pushed yourself away from the metal and stalked through the hallway, before heading towards the stairs, which would lead you from the submarines belly to its top part.

You were in dire need of some fresh air.

In about three hours, at midday, the first part of your alliances plan to take out Don Dandolo would be set in motion. 

By then you needed to have cleared your head from all the unwanted commotion. 

Stepping outside, you stretched in the warm sunlight and took a look around you. 

Carnival Island was pretty, so nothing hinted the dark secrets it harboured. If the information your group had collected was true, it was a highly-favoured transshipment point of the black market. Human trafficking, gambling, prostitution, illegal substances, everything could be found here. 

For a price.

Don Dandolo had his hands in every legal and illegal business in his realm and through him, so had Doflamingo.

Taking the baron out would be no problem, of that you were sure. 

"But to take out the looming giant behind him, surely will be.", you mumbled and threw the rest of your snack into the sea, where a greedy seagull immediately snatched it from.

Watching the blue waves below, you only relinquished your position, when you were called back in to discuss todays mission with the rest of the crew. 

***

Trafalgars plan for this first day was simple but elementary for the whole missions success.

In order to distract Don Dandolo and his henchmen, Birdie had agreed to show herself in town without a mask. Of course Eustass Kid wasn't enjoying this part, but there was no better way to lure the nasty wanna-be mob boss into taking premature actions. His hatred for the ex-Marine was too strong to let her slip from his grasp. 

Some of the younger men amongst the ranks of Kids and Laws men had agreed to disguise themselves as the rredheads beloved. 

They would wander around town as well, giving Dandolos troups a run for their money.

If everything worked out, this little distraction game would give Gigi and you enough time to infiltrate the city hall and gather some information from the main computer system.

While Gigi would hack into the system and extract the needed details, you would secure an underwater escape route. Your research on the towns construction had brought to light that the towns hall was actually built right on the water, only held up by a wooden foundation, protected by a strong mixture, whose main ingredient was a rare sort of clay, that, once hardened, was indestructible. Rumor had it, that the formula for this had been developped by no other person than the World Governments famous head-scientist Vegapunk himself. 

Once your nakama would have finished his tasked, he would come to the part of the building that faced the sea. There was a ship dock used for the delievery of supplies and goods. You would wait in the reservoir, hidden right beneath the surface. As soon as Gigi would arrive and join you in the water, you would use your powers to create an oxygen bubble for him to safely breathe underwater. Then you would dive to a small hatch in the giant dockdoors together and escape through it. 

"Any questions?", Law asked after he had given his men time to memorize all the details.

Penguin raised a hand.

"Err, captain? You said, four of us will play Birdie as well? I only count three. Have you settled number four alrea-"

He stopped his tracks, when he noticed that everyone present was looking at him with wicked smiles on their faces.

"EHHHH?"

 _Poor guy_ , you thought, when you watched him being dogpiled by Shachi and Clione.

"LET THE FUCK GO OF ME!!", were the last words you heard from him as he was dragged out by his buddies.

You were joined by Ikkaku, who shook her head.

"To think that we have to take care of their looks. I don't think I have the strength.", she sighed.

"Me nei-, wait what?", you raised your brows.

"Who do you think is going to help them with the fake boobs and lashes? At least we're two. Try to imagine Birdie having to deal with all her new "sisters" from her mans crew."

A cackle escaped her and you as well couldn't help but laugh.

You hoped for Birdies sake that Booka wasn't among the chosen ones.

***

"I'm not gonna put socks into that flimsy thing! Gimme something else to wear."

Theo, the youngest member of the heart pirates, yelled.

He had already stepped into the black pants he would wear and was now staggering around in the heeled boots.

"Your lower half is already that of a woman, now cut the crap! I'll only add two in each cup.", Ikkaku insisted, her right hand on her hip, while the red lace bra, Theo feared, was dangling from her left pointer finger.

"Yeah, cut it, newbie! I've got four in each cup! I'll look like a weird version of my sister.", his best friend, a lilac-haired shipwright named Yoshi, pouted, before anling his now clean-shaven face towards you, so you could apply mascara to his lashes.

"Hold still, Yoshi. Or we won't be done, once we are to set out.", you reprimanded him quietly.

The man sitting on the stool next to you let out a deep sigh.

"Why couldn't you pretend to be Kids little bird?", a still pissed Penguin grumbled, while he struggled with the buttons of his red blouse.

Rolling your eyes you finished Yoshis make-up with a little bit of powder to cover his scars. Then you came towards the cursing pirate and took the two sides of cloth into your own hands. With quick fingerwork you closed the buttons for him. 

"You know why. Because I'm Gigis backup."

You patted his cheeks, the gesture lighting up his face.

"And because the captain would not allow you to strut around in clothes as body-hugging as this."

Wiggling his brows at your frown, he screeched, when you pinched his nose.

"Come on, dipshit. Let's get your make up done.", you replied and pulled him to the stool, Yoshi had just left.

"I heed your command, mermaid-chan.", Penguin said, accepting his fate to become a girl for a day.

"Just you wait. You'll be the sexiest bird of them all. That I promise you. Every men around town will fawn over you."

"Err, mermaid-chan. Please don't overdo it, okay?"

"Of course not."

Too bad, you were a compulsive liar this time.

Little left to say, that Penguin threw you a stinky eye, when he, his three "sisters" and the group that would escort them to the Victoria Punk departed.

You just shared a triumphant high-five with Ikkaku. 

***

Thirty minutes later your crew recieved a call from the Kid Pirates.

You were pulled from your preparation, when you heard the angry voice of Birdie demanding to have you put on the speaker.

"Yeees, my dear?", you answered when a shocked looking Uni handed you the dial and fled from the scene. 

"YOU DAMN WITCH! HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME?!"

With a pained expression you stepped away from the angry-looking Den Den Mushi.

If the woman on the other side got a little more aggressive it would probably start spitting fire at you. 

"Geez, stop screaming, Birdie-san. I can hear you perfectly fine.", you said.

Little lightning bolts shot from the snails eyes, as Birdie continued to speak. 

Not as loud as before but still pissed.

"Is this how you thank me, angelfish?! With a bunch of trolls looking like me?"

"I think they look gorgeous. Very close to the model. Consider it my answer to that foolish little plan of yours."

Your reply was followed by a long silence.

With a snort you continued.

"Come on! Putting us in the same room for the night? How old are you guys? Seven?"

"It had potential. It's probably Law being the adorable tsundere that he is-" 

"[Y/n]-ya. Are you done?"

The rest of her sentence was cut off by the voice of your captain, who had entered the room.

Sweat started to form on your forehead.

How much had he heard?

"Ahh, the man I was talking about.", your friend frolicked from the other end of the call. 

With wide eyes you quickly looked from the Den Den Mushi to your leader, who approached you and took the speaker from your quivering hand. 

His face didn't show any sign of what he was about to do.

"Birdie-ya. Keep your sly fingers out of our business. Next time neither I nor her will let you off easily."

And with that, he simply ended the call.

"That won't stop her and you know it."

Your words hung between the two of you for the briefest moment, then Trafalgar turned away from the device. His grey eyes found yours, taking in your slightly flushed cheeks. 

_What the heck am I to you?_ , you asked him in your thoughts, your feet unconciously taking you closer to him, while you didn't avert your gaze.

_An asset?_

_Your Nakama?_

_Or something entirely different?_

In the end it was him, who looked away. 

"We should go. Gigi is waiting for us."

He stalked to the door and you could've sworn that for even the slightest second, you had seen his cheeks getting red.

_"It's probably Law being the adorable tsundere that he is."_

Birdies words echoed in your mind, but when Law opened the door for you, you pushed these thoughts aside and left at his side.

You had work to do.


	9. Day III - Step One

Finding the back entrance of the city hall wasn't difficult. Slipping inside during lunchbreak wasn't a big thing either.

Dressed into the same uniforms most of Don Dandolos employees wore, Gigi and you quickly entered the tall building, pretending to carry along a new delivery of groceries for the islands ruler.

While you carried a basket filled with freshly picked grapes, Gigi had shouldered two sacks of potatoes. Immersed in a fake-talk about todays chores, you passed through the kitchen area and entered the pantry. So far nobody had voiced out a single hint of concern towards the latest members of the kitchen staff. Putting down the items you carried you exchanged a quick glance and nodded at each other.

"The serverroom is on the second floor, Gigi. Take care, I'll wait at the shipdock as planned.", you whispered to your nakama, who gave you a thumbs up before he started removing a panel in the left wall of the pantry and slid into the ventilation shaft, which was hidden behind it. As an expert climber, this passage way meant no threat to him. 

After you had put the panel back where it belonged, you took two bags of rice and three bottles of milk from two of the shelves and left the pantry. Back in the kitchen you handed the items to the headchef and bid him as well as his team a polite goodbye. With calm steps you walked through the doors and followed the corridor to your right. Disappearing into a nearby storage room, you pulled out the baby Den Den Mushi you had recieved from your leader and called him.

"[Y/n]?"

"We're in. Gigi and I just seperated in the pantry. I'll head to the dock now. Any news from Birdie and the others?"

"Nothing negative. Dandolo swallowed the bait, just as we expected him to. Now get to your position and hide, understood? I want the two of you out of there as soon as Gigi is done with his hacking job."

At these words of your captain, you smiled to yourself.

"Afraid for our wellbeing, captain? Where's your trust in our efficiency?", you asked nonchalantly.

"I trust Gigi. And I trust you, you know that, [Y/n]. But don't forget, who's really behind all this."

Laws voice was calm, but you didn't feel like letting him off the hook.

"Yeah, Joker, Doflamingo. I know. Well at least, I'm no longer just lil' old mermaid-ya to you. Shows me you finally learned my name. Later."

And before he could reply, you ended the call.

You had hung up on him.

Content with yourself you put the device away and slipped out of the disguise you had donned. Tossing the clothes and shoes you no longer needed into an empty box in the back of the room, you quickly slipped into your casual clothes. Luckily you had never been fond of overly colourful clothes, but favoured dark clothes aside from a simple pastel garment here and there. After pulling your own dress and espadrilles on, you left your hideout after checking carefully left and right, whether someone was about to cross your way. Once you were sure that there was no suspicious movement, you quietly closed the door behind you and continued your way to the meeting point. If your captains calculations were right, the shipdock would be busy enough for you to simply blend in with the staff working there.

***

For quite a while Trafalgar Law stared at the now sleeping Den Den Mushi in front of him. Then he shook his head and left his room. 

There was nothing to be worried about.

Gigi was an expert in procuring data by hacking into computer systems and you, a former Government employee turned mermaid, still held onto the air of professionalism from your old job. 

If he hadn't been one-hundred percent sure about the two of you being successful, he wouldn't haven chosen you to work together. 

That in mind he joined Bepo, Penguin and Shachi. Together they left the submarine and went straight for the city. By now Dandolos men were already confused over the appearance of Birdie and her ten "sisters"

While one group of henchmen reported back to have her seen at Dandolos favourite casino, "Lucky Duck", the next group reported that she was at one of the citys many shopping malls, hunting for special offers. The third group said that she was still at the Victoria Punk, guarding the ship while her lover and captain was in town with his men and getting the needed supplies for their journey. 

Don Dandolo fumed. 

He cursed his men for being so easily distracted and so stupid to not see through this little scheme the Kid Pirates were pulling.

With an angry yell, he instructed one of his servants to bring him the special Den Den Mushi, which he only used to contact Doflamingo. For days he had tried to get through to the king of Dressrosa, but without any success. Whomever he had spoken to, had just told him to calm down and focus. The Kid Pirates weren't considered a real threat yet, so there was no need to wipe them out. 

Dandolos personal grudge against the ex-marine in their ranks were no reason for the Donquixote family to strike. Even if her actions during her time as an active member of the Marine had affected some parts of the familys business, it hadn't done serious damage to their funds in general. Dandolos pride had suffered and Doflamingo had reprimanded him, but nothing more. There were other things of much bigger importance to take care of. Like the latest deal with Kaido, leader of the Beast Pirates and one of the Yonko. 

"If only I could free myself from the ties that bind me to this uncaring and unthankful bastard. Then I could make Carnival Island an independent state and maybe extend my hand to the Tenryuubito without having to share my profit with Doflamingo and his blasted family.", the Don muttered, flinching at the horrendous sums he had to give away for his protection. 

With a long sigh he dialed Doflamingos number and was once again met again with the same message as all those days before. 

As it seemed there was nothing to be done about it.

_Fine. I will handle this matter all by myself then!_

Ordering the servant to bring the Den Den Mushi away, he then used his personal device to make calls to his troups in town. But right now, while he was focussing on informing his teams to take closer looks at each "woman", a far bigger and more dangerous threat to his existence ensued right under his nose. Yet in this particular case he wasn't aware of it as well and if everything went as it should, we would never notice until the deed was done.

***

In the meantime Gigi had made his way into the serverroom. With nimble fingers he had taken care of the computer system and hacked straight into Dandolos pool of informations. He knew that he had to be swift, but thanks to his captains precise orders the Heart pirate had memorized which data he was looking for. Clicking through the folders of the criminals bank accounts and the money transfer between Carnival Island and Dressrosa, Gigi proceeded to upload false information and to collect evidence for Dandolos betrayal. In the bank accounts he had found a seperate folder secured by a password, which had the promising name "Accounts sans Dressrosa". The hacker snorted at such foolery and broke through the password within his next intake of breath. Then he copied this crucial evidence onto the USB-stick he had brought along. As soon as the download was done, he unplugged it and retreated from the computer system, not leaving a single trace behind. 

Readjusting his cap he took a quick look around the room, just to be sure and went back to the ventilation shaft he had emerged from about ten minutes ago. Putting back the panel he had removed before, he proceeded to climb his way back into the direction where you would hopefully be waiting for him.

Indeed you were, not moving a single scale below the surface. 

Diving into the shipdocks water area hadn't been a problem for you. Hiding between big boxes, which were waiting to be loaded or stored away, you had slid into the blue without a sound. The waves had welcomed you eagerly and then transformed you once again. Since then, you had been waiting. Swimming around to kill the time had been out of question, because the risk of somebody noticing a flash of white and red from above was to risky. Therefore you stayed pressed right to the ground, which, as you had happiyl noticed, could not be seen from the surface. Gigi would announce his arrival with the help of a coin, which he would flick into the water out of his hiding spot. 

Listening to the beat of your own heart, you contemplated the next phase of your plan, hoping that today would frustrate Don Dandolo enough to throw all caution to the wind. You were more than sure that the ten little birds as well as the original were currently doing their best to vex him and his men.  
You saw a disguised Yoshi popping up in a bar, drinking with some of the Kid pirates but just when the self-proclaimed barons men would come, he would be gone and nowhere to be found. Then the henchmen would recieve new informations that Birdie, this time maybe one of the Kid pirates, had just appeared in a casino right across the street. Dandolo would order his goons to run there and to take "her" into custody. But yet again, they would not find the sharpshooter there. 

Your giggles at your imagination were only stopped, when a soft plopping sound from above your head made you look up. 

A five-hundred Beli coin fell into the open palm of your hand.

_Gigi._

Getting up from your spot, you swam a little upwards and mentally counted down from ten to one.

When you had reached zero, a bigger body delved into the water, but unfortunately with a loud splash. Immediately people came running, but when the first jumped into the water to check what happened they found nothing. Within a few seconds you had used your powers to catapult Gigi and yourself through the open watergates of the shipdock, with your nakama breathing safely thanks to a bubble filled with oxygen which you had summoned around his head. 

Shooting away from the city hall, you never let go of his hand until you had made it out into blue and close to the Polar Tang. There the other crewmembers under command of Jean Bart welcomed the two of you back and helped you on board. 

Step one had been a success.


	10. Day IV - The fish caught the bird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, this took so long :( Sorry for the wait, but as I've explained in the beginning notes of my Cavdenish-shot, my job life has been keeping me busy for the whole last month :/ I hope things will calm down now at least for a little while.... Kudos to all you faithful people, who leave likes, watches, kudos and comments. Your support is highly appreciated <3
> 
> This chapter hints events from Abyss Cronicas story "Captive", especially chapter 25 "Day 16".  
> Please go check it out for further information.

"An invitation from Don Dandolo?"

You raised your brows in surprise at Trafalgar Laws words. 

Surely you had misheard. 

He couldn't have said that. 

Could he?

You blinked once. 

Twice.

But even after the final third time, your captain hadn't corrected himself. 

Much like the rest of the Heart Pirates, sitting in the briefing room, you were stunned.

Don Dandolo had invited your crew to visit him in his manison.

Immediately the tip of your nose tingled. 

There had to be something fishy about it and you voiced out yor concern, followed by the approval of several members like Yoshi or Theo.

Law understood where you were coming from, but still insisted on taking the invitation.

"I also think that he's up to something, but I still feel like we should hear him out. In the end he can't threaten us, given he knows about the amount of trust Doflamingo has in me."

"Eustass Kid won't like the idea of you meeting the man, who's after his mate.", Bepo said with a frown and shook his head with obvious fright of the short-tempered redhead.

With his words hanging in the air, Law stayed calm nonetheless.

"He already knows."

You all let out a breath.

"Ah fine.", Shachi smiled, only for everyone except your captain to yell in the next minute.

"HE KNOWS?!"

The commotion ensuing after this news only ended when Trafalgar raised his right hand.

"Calm down. I mentioned the possibility of an invitation to him from the start. After all with out arrival here, Dandolo considers his chances of getting his revenge from Birdie-ya as well as taking out a possible threat for Doflamingo way higher than usual.", he explained.

"So you want to make him believe that we agree to his proposal? And then take him out when he's expecting it the least?", Jean Bart asked.

When your leader only smirked at these question of the fishman, the other Heart Pirates burst into cheers.

"Good scheme, captain!"

"We're going to teach that pompous ass of a wannabe-royal a lesson!"

You had to admit, it sounded like the perfect plan and simple enough to be executed easily, but you still felt uneasy about it. Something deep in your gut told you, that your captains plan might cause a horrible backfire. 

Had you really paid enough attention and avoided any loose end?

If this visit went wrong, word would find a quick way to Dressrosa and -

"[y/n]?"

The sound of your name being called, snapped you from your musings.

"Huh? Sorry, what's the matter?"

Looking around you saw everyone having turned towards you.

"Captain just said that your help will be needed to make sure that Don doesn't plan something funny.", Penguin told you in a stage-whisper.

"Y-Yeah sure, count on me, everyone.", you said quickly, a fullgrown blush creeping into your cheeks at the idea of spacing out with all your nakama as well as Trafalgar Law watching. 

"You and Birdie will have to lure him out, with her pretending to have been caught by us. Do you think you can do that?"

Laws question hung in the air, as you felt everyones eyes on you.

You and Birdie.

Posing as prisoner and captor.

Playing the bait for Don Dandolo.

Your brain spoke quicker than your heart wanted you to.

"Sure.", you said with a determined nod.

"Good. Dandolo expects us in tomorrow evening. Until then we need you and Birdie to keep a low profile."

You chuckle at Laws last sentence.

Keeping a low profile wouldn't be a problem.

Not for two ex-world government employees on the run.

***

In the early and still dark hours of the next morning you left the Polar Tang in your mermaid form and made your way to the Victoria Punk.

It was Heats time to take care of the final watch that night, so when a repeated splashing from below his usual eyelevel caught his attention, he saw you, or more precisely, your head popping up from the dark sea. He couldn't see much of your form, but the slightest flash of white showed him the outlines of your fishtail moving along the waves.

His stitched mouth formed an amused smile, when he noticed that the sight of him seemed to scare you a bit. Even during your first time with the Kid Pirates you had side-eyed him with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

"Don't worry. I don't bite.", he said, when you swam closer to the ship.

"But you spit fire.", you replied with a nod towards his throat.

"Only when provoked.", the bluehaired said with a shrug, before gesturing you to dive below the ship. "I'll let you in."

With that he turned away und you slipped back into the depths, swimming closer to the ships belly until you dove beneath it and saw a hole opening above your head. Heading upwards you broke through the surface and faced Heat again, who held out a hand to help you out of the water.

You remembered Birdies description of the tall man, when you took it.

_"He might look all big, goth and scary, but deep down he's a big softie."_

With a little less than a gentle pull, he had taken you out of the water and now it was his turn to look at you with obvious curiosity. Your fishtail was a beautiful contrast of pearly white and a blood red as it swatted on the ground. Until now he had only heard about mermaids, but never seen one before. He had believed that he would only get to see one, once they'd make it to Fishmen Island, but here you sat right in front of him. 

An artificial mermaid, but still a mermaid, eventough you were wearing a black tanktop instead of a stereotype clam-bra.

Your chuckle brought him back to his senses.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare.", he apologized.

"Don't worry. I've grown used to it. At least most people around me don't condemn it.", you replied, only to ask him to wait for you outside the room, which seemed a storage room for diving utils. 

Transforming with an audience definitely wasn't a thing you were into and you were more than thankful that the zombie-like pirate had the decency to give you space. When the door closed behind him, you opened your bag and pulled out a dry top in your favourite colour as well as a pair of panties, a knee-long jeans and your shoes. As soon as your transformation had stopped, you got up and dressed your lower body. Thanks to Laws care your skin didn't show any irritations and you were ready to join Heat. 

Stepping out, you saw him waiting by a stairway leading upwards and out of the ships belly. In order to not wake the still sleeping crew, both of you remained quiet until you had reached the galley. Entering the room, you were greeted by the delicious smell of freshly brewed coffee. Taking a deep whiff, you enjoyed the aroma of the bitter drink. Noticing your enjoyment, Heat decided to offer you a cup. 

You were an ally after all. 

"Whoever made this, can they please join the Heart Pirates or at least teach me to brew coffee like that? This is divine.", you praised, after you had taken the first sip. 

"Thanks for the praise."

A muffled voice came from an open door, which obviously led to the pantry.

A tall, masked figure emerged, arms filled with groceries.

Killer, the Massacre Soldier.

With all the strength you could muster, you kept yourself from spitting the coffee back into the cup. 

Of all members along the Kid Pirates, you had not expected him do be in charge of the kitchen.

Noticing your surprised face, the blonde chuckled.

"Usually it's Birdies job to take care of the coffee, but she's still asleep, so I stepped in before Wire could.", he said.

Raising your brows at this statement, Heat explained that the horned mans coffee was absolutely lethal.

"I can hear you, you know?", a gruff voice said, after the door had opened again.

In came the man, whose lack of coffee-making-skills had just been talked about. He scowled at his brethren, before noticing you, sipping your beverage.

"Oh, she's here already? Trafalgar definitely has a thing for being precise.", he said, nodding towards you in greeting, before lending a helping hand to Killer, who was now preparing the ingredients for the crews breakfast.

Watching the two men work, you thought of Theo and Yoshi, who were on kitchen duty at your ship today. Another reason why you had seen to get away before breakfast. Both men were horrible at making breakfast and therefore confined to preparing the ingredients by chopping and slicing them, in order to help, Hisomeru the crews masked chef and his first assistant Kombucha . You could already imagine the poor latter, rubbing his bald head and pulling his impressive walrus mustache at their presence in their kitchen.

Being warmed up by the coffee, you opened up to the three men around you and even fell into a comfortable talk with Heat, who, encouraged by your friendly demeanor, asked about how you had ended up with the Heart Pirates for real. Most things the Kid Pirates had heard from you were informations coming from the World Government. 

You decided to stick to the truth and told them your story the same way as you had told it to Law and his men.

While you kept speaking about your days working as a government scientist and how your former boss had pushed you into the blasted chemicals tank, the door opened time and time again, letting in more and more top rank members of the crew like the Mohican and Booka. The latter moped for a while about not being the one to see you in your mermaid form, but then listened as well. It amazed you to see these feared pirates just sitting there, munching their breakfast and listening to you. 

_I get why Birdie likes them so much._ , you thought as you finished your story and politely asked for a refill of coffee.

Holding the cup with both hands you then turned your head, when Kid and Birdie made their entrance to the galley.

As usual the redheads face carried a grumpy attitude, but there was also a pleased glint in his eyes.

The reason for that came in behind him.

Birdie glared daggers at the fur covered back of her paramour and it was when she went ahead of him, that you noticed her slight limping. Together with several bruises littered among the sunkissed skin of her neck, you quickly put two and two together. 

"Limping again, navy girl? You just had to provoke the captain again yesterday, huh?"

Booka flashed her a dirty grin, only to be rewarded with the sight of Birdies outstretched middle fingers. 

"Shut up and eat your breakfast, big guy.", she hissed, only to flash you a wide smile, when she noticed you.

You smiled back, when she approached you and reached for some coffee herself.

"Is everythings ready for later?", she asked between sips, before offering you a bowl of fruit, from where you took a handful of grapes.

"Sure. I can't wait to see Dandolos face when he realizes he's been had.", you snickered, when the towering shadow of Eustass Kid fell upon you.

"You make sure, she's coming out of this unharmed, understood?", he snarled, his amber eyes narrowing in on you.

Looking at him over the edge of your cup, you put it aside and simply nodded.

You wouldn't give him a verbald answer, he needn't know that the thought of facing his unleashed wrath actually scared the hell out of you.

Luckily the woman next to you tutted at the pirate and grinned, as she put her left arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry Kid. I trust her with this. She's smart, plus she'll be accompanied by two of our men as well. Just focus on your part in this and you'll have me back in no time."

***

About twelve hours later, when the sun started to set, Dandolo and his closest underlings welcomed Trafalgar Law and the highest-ranking members of his crew in his manisons entrance hall. 

He took in the crew in their jumpsuits as well as their captain in his well-known black and yellow hoodie, his trusted nodachi, leisurely carried along. The pirates were at ease for now, but seeing that they had brought their weapons along was a silent but meaningful reminder, not to mess with them.

The baron welcomed them, led them to his parlor and offered drinks for everyone, which were served by dutiful servants.

As soon as they had left the room again, Dandolo poured himself a glass of whiskey and sat down face to face with Law, whom he had offered an ornate chair to.

For a few minutes the two men eyed each other with silent interest without saying a word. Same counted for their followers, who were ready to defend their leader with brute force if need be.

Finally it was the Don, whose lips curled into an oily smile, before he started to talk.

"As I said before, Trafalgar Law, I'm glad you and your men found your way to my humble abode."

Law just smirked at these lofty words.

Humble definitely wasn't the right word to describe the house they had entered a few minutes before. 

To call it a small palace was much more fitting.

Every room and hallway they had passed through was richly decorated with marble, golden inlays, furniture made of rare woods and expensive carpets. Usually Dandolo wouldn't be able to afford all this with his income alone. Gigis research about him stealing money from the Donquixote family was proven correct by all of these luxurious items.

"You have an interesting taste, that much I give you, Dandolo-ya. But I'm sure you didn't invite me here to discuss matters of interior design, right?", Law said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

The baron let out a nervous laugh, before straightening in his seat and nodding.

"You are indeed correct, captain Law. I have invited you today, because I am in dire need of your help.", the bald man made a dramatic pause, before continuing. "As you might know, the Kid pirates have arrived on this wonderful island as well. In the future, I fear, they will pose a serious threat to our family, especially due to the latest addition to their ranks. But as well informed as you're said to be, I'm sure you already have heard who has joined hands with Eustass Kid. To think he's taken an ex-marine as his lover, how mad must he be? Obviously he thinks she'll be useful to him. Maybe he's already eyeing the throne of Dressrosa as we speak."

Dandolo was a great actor, Law had to give him that much credit, but he had already figured out how to bring out the balds true colours.

"Are you that afraid of Doflamingo? He's bleeding out your income rather heavily every month, isn't he? I'm sure your finances cause you lots of grey hair. I pity you for that and think, that you deserve better.", he told the baron slowly, his small grey eyes never leaving the Dons green ones. 

For a moment both men remained quiet, then the emerald orbs in the older mans face widened. 

Could this unhappy series of events turn out even better for him?

Was Trafalgar Law, one of Doflamingos closest confidantes truely meaning what he said?

He decided to put everything on one card and nodded with a sad smile.

"I'm struggling hard, but as long as Doflamingo is in power I will keep suffering from the taxes he's put on me. If I could be free, I could expand my business and reward those who've helped me in becoming independent.", he confessed. 

Now Law unfolded his arms and leaned forward.

"Then you're lucky, I'm willing to help you out, Dandolo-ya.", he replied.

If it hadn't turned him into a fool in front of his visitors, Don Dandolo, ruler of Carnival Island would've started to dance right on the spot. Since he couldn't lose face though, he forced himself to stay calm. 

After all he had to get proof for the pirates trustworthiness first.

"And why should I trust you?"

Law snickered. 

"I knew you would say that. That's why I had something prepared for you. And it arrived just in time." He gave a quick look to Shachi and Penguin. "Go get them, they're waiting at the front door as we speak. Tell them Don Dandolo is very eager to see the gift we want him to have."

***

As your captain sent his nakama on their way, the gift had already stepped onto the barons grounds. His guards though had denied you entrance to the manison, obviously not trusting the view in front of them.

Two women, one with her hands and feet cuffed, as she was carried over the left shoulder a white polar bear mink, whom they recognized as Bepo, navigator of the Heart Pirates. 

Birdie, ex-marine and lover of Eustass Captain Kid.

The other women was walking casually beside the bear, the little keys to the cuffs dangling on a delicate silver necklace around her neck. Her wanted poster had just been added to the city walls about half a year ago: the so called "Malicious Mermaid".

The last member of this escort party was a huge bearded man with a mohawk-haircut, former Tenryubito slave Jean Bart, keeping a watchful eye on the prisoner.

Your little farce was perfectly executed, with Birdie still pretending to be knocked out. She didn't move a muscle, when one of the guards patted her butt. 

_Man, I don't wanna be in your place, when she's free again. Or when Kid learns what you just did. You'll probably lose more than only that hand of yours._ , you thought, only to keep up your own pokerface, when his colleague, who just had finished inspecting Jean Bart and Bepo, came to you.

"My, my what a pretty one. Who are you, precious? Never knew the Heart Pirates had taken in another woman.", he snickered.

"She's the captains woman, you better stop talking.", Jean growled at him in response, while you remained silent. 

Hearing this, the bootlicker, immediately retreated. 

The wrath of Trafalgar Law wasn't something he was willing to take.

To your embarassment your leader had agreed on having you play the role of his paramour in this phase of his scheme.

You hadn't figured out yet, who had been the masterbrain behind this, but as soon as you would, you would hand them their sorry ass on a plate.

 _Stop fussing about this. You're enjoying the idea! You just can't get yourself to accept it!_ , your heart scolded you, while your reason called you foolish.

"There you are guys!" 

"Did everything work out as planned?"

The joyous voices of Penguin and Shachi relieved you from your inner turmoil. With a content smile you greeted them, before gesturing towards your wrapped up friend.

"Seems like this time the fish actually caught the bird and not the other way around.", you said.

A dry-heaving cough fell from Birdies lips.

"Oi, looks like she's waking up. We better hurry and get her inside, before she causes a ruckus.", Bepo said and hurried forward as the now convinced guards made way for your little group.

Your heart raced in your chest.

The real fun was about to start.


	11. Day IV - So much for negotiations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aand another long wait. Ugh. :( 
> 
> Sorry to make you wait, but despite trying hard, I wasn't able to focus properly on this story in particular. It is my favourite piece to work at, but also the hardest from time to time. I want to give 100% when I do, but my job and the situation at home (looking after my grandparents, who are in need of daily care due to my grandpa suffering Parkinson and my grandma being treated in hospital after removal of a kidney) consume most of my time at the moment. The last few weeks weren't easy on me, because of these matters, but I'm entirely greatful for all the support you give this story. Either by reading it, liking it, commenting or just checking it out.
> 
> This story has reached 1150 views and that's all thanks to you.
> 
> Thank you for being patient.
> 
> And now please enjoy the new chapter. 
> 
> We're closing in on the great finale. :)

When you entered the room everyone was waiting in for you and your companions, you felt a shiver run down your spine.

Don Dandolo had gotten up from his seat as had Trafalgar Law, whose lips curled into a content smirk at your entrance. You smiled back, using his grey eyes as an anchor to calm your jittery nerves. With calm yet determined steps, you reached his side, where he gestured for you to take a seat on the left armrest of his chair, after he and your host had sat down again.

"I see you've completed your task perfectly, [y/n]-ya.", Law said, a proud spark in his eyes.

"Your word is my command. As always.", you replied boldly, mirroring his gaze, possible innuendo fully intended.

Only the slightest twitch in his dark brows told you, that he didn't expect this kind of reply. 

But instead of waiting for another remark of his, you turned to the baron, whose eyes had widened, when he had been able to take in your appearance fully.

"Don Dandolo. I'm pleased to make your accquaintance.", you said, with a sweet smile.

The criminal obviously struggled to keep his composure, but then he cleared his throat and gave you a welcoming nod.

"It's my pleasure", he said only to add "But I think I owe you an apology. As it seems some of my underlings were so foolish to bother you a few days ago. If they had known better, they would have minded their business. Please accept my humble apology for their outrageous behaviour, Miss [y/n]."

With a small wave of your hand, you put the subject down.

"They spooked me, yes, but that's all. Though, little did I know, who my savior from back then was.", you said with a snicker at the petite woman, who was still bound and knocked out.

As she laid on the expensive carpet at the Dons feet, you felt sorry for her, when the bald spat onto her face.

"Fucking bitch. Back when she was still a marine, I lost a fortune and one of my best men because of her. If it hadn't been for all the hard work I've put in since then, I would have lost Doflamingos favour forever. My plans to be independent were close to being destroyed, just because she had to stick her nose where it doesn't belong.", he hissed, his eyes narrowed at her still unmoving form.

Just when you thought, we was going to kick her in the stomach, he hesitated, then motioned for some of his guards to approach.

"Take her to the cells in the cellar. Lock her properly up, I'll deal with her later. And make sure to change her cuffs to the ones made of seastone. We can't have her precious loverboy to come around and get them off with a flick of his wrist.", he told them, before one of them picked up your friend as if she weighed nothing.

"Err, boss the keys to her current shackles? Where are they?", another underling asked.

"I carry the keys on me. So please allow me to come along."

You got up again from your seat and smiled at the islands ruler.

"If you've got nothing against it of course. I'm only asking, because I need some information from her. Until now she refused to give it to me and I promised her, that once we're under your wing, Don Dandolo, I'd take her knowledge even if I have to go rough on her.", you explained. 

The bald baron nodded, obviously trying to court Trafalgar Laws sympathy by accommodating to his "lovers" wishes.

"Be my guest, Miss [y/n]. Please just make sure, you don't damage her too much. Once I'm done with her, I'll make sure to find a suitable buyer for her in the Human Auctioning House.", he said.

"Sounds like a good plan to me. Now if you excuse me, sirs.", you chirped, turning away from Dandolo and passing Law, only to run your hand along his arm as you passed him. "Don't wait for me, captain. This might take a while. I'll come back to the submarine once I've gotten what I need."

Your "lover" took hold of your hand, quietly ordering you to wait for his permission, which he gave you with a nod, after he had pressed a peck to your wrist.

A shiver ran down your spine and you didn't even have to act like you enjoyed it. 

You really did, no matter how short the moment.

With a smile you pulled your arm from his grasp and turned away.

When some of your nakama wanted to join you, you shook your head.

"I'm in good hands. Don't worry."

Playfully you winked at the flustered goons, who would lead you to the cell they had intended for Birdie. To your relief it seemed like they would be easy to deal with once you had reached your destination. Quietly you followed them out of the room and prepared yourself mentally for the next step as the doors of the salon closed behind you soundlessly.

***

The heavy steps of the guards echoed from the cellars walls.

You followed them, while trying your best to keep up your calm and relaxed demeanor. As soon as you would reach the cell they intended to throw Birdie into, you had to act quickly.

Mentally you told yourself to calm your breathing and focus on the task ahead, only to snap back into reality, when the jingling of several keys was filling the dimly lit cellar.

Your friend was unceremoniously dropped to the cold floor, now no longer able to play the knocked out one.

Instead she hissed and growled profanities at the guards, only to recieve a hard slap to the face from one of them.

Seeing this, you subconciously cracked your fingers, already looking forward to pay them back with a brand new trick.

Among the Heart Pirates only Law knew about this particular skill of yours.

Once you decided to use it, the ones affected by it, usually didn't get the chance to see it again.

"Do you want to question her with out help, beautiful? I'd love to see you work. I heard you can do some badass tricks with water and I'm at your disposal to get you some.", the man, who had slapped Birdie said.

His colleague chuckled with a dirty grin.

"Oh I bet, she's got some real nasty shit up her sleeves. Trafalgar Law definitely has and I'm sure the woman he fucks, isn't a slouch in that department ei-"

He didn't finish that sentence, because the right fist of his companion hit him right in the face. 

The disgusting sound of a broken nose was heard, followed by a pained scream.

A quick look at the widened eyes of your still tied up friend and the guards' told you enough.

The famous effect of suprise attacks was on your side. 

"Oops?", you said with a smile, your right hands fingers still curled into a fist, when you already moved two fingers oft your left in a quick movement, causing the hurt guard on the ground to roll away and straight into the next wall, knocking him out completely.

Angry at his own foolishness the remaining guard wanted to lunge himself at you, trying to overpower you by brute force, but your powers stopped his plan right on the spot. His arms and legs disobeyed him with nothing more but a crook of your fingers. Pressed to his sides, his arms remained where they were and his legs stopped working. In order to shut him up, you had him rip a large piece from his shirt and made him shove it between his teeth. You were about to leave him like that, when you decided that you were better off with knocking him out as well. With a swift swirl of your hand you had him slam against a heavy-looking box nearby.

The fact that blood contained 90 to 95 percent of water definitely was an advantage, if one was able to control water with the force of ones own will.

"Whew."

Content with your handiwork, you approached Birdie, who was still staring at you.

"That was pretty creepy, you know?"

Her rhetorical question had you rolling your eyes.

She was a member of the Kid Pirates.

What they usually did to their victims was far worse.

"I prefer not using this skill, but today there was no other choice.", you replied as you busied yourself with taking off the necklace you wore. 

Loosening the key from it, you then unlocked Birdies handcuffs as well as the ones that bound her feet. 

"Thank god, my feet and hands already felt numb.", she said before switching back to the topic from before. "You keep coming up with surprises almost everytime we meet, angelfish. I like it."

Tutting at her words, you shook your head with a chuckle. 

"Keep the praises for later. Now let's you get our setup done."

Sighing the sharpshooter nodded.

"You won't use your little blood-control-thing on me, right?", she asked, eyeing you with doubt.

"Only if you don't hit me right. Or are you afraid you're too much of a sissy to do it right?", you replied boldly, causing her to snort.

"I just don't like punching someone I start to consider as a good friend, so - woah!"

You made the choice for her and moved your fingers quickly.

Once, twice.

The impact of her fists on your face came expected but nonetheless powerful.

She was a trained marine after all.

You could feel your lower lip burst with the second hit.

Pain surged through your cheeks, your entire face.

"Fucking hell, [y/n]! At least warn me, before you do shit like that!", Birdie screeched, only to repeatedly make grasping moves with her hands in order to check whether you were still controlling her.

"Like I said before, we've got a time limit.", you said, wincing at the metallic taste of blood on your tongue.

That said, the two of you went to work and quickly sat up the scenery, implying that a quick but messy scuffle had taken place here. Breaking old barrels and several pieces of dusty, forgotten furniture, which had been brought down here, once Dandolo had gotten tired of using it. 

As expected the noise drew the attention of the barons servants.

When two of them arrived, they found the two unconscious guards as well as you a beaten up hostage in Birdies hands.

"Get your fatted boss here!", she hissed, holding your head in a perfect position to break your delicate neck. "Get him here or I kill her on the spot! Don't want to know what Don Fatso is going to do, when his alliance with the Heart Pirates goes straight to hell because he couldn't save Laws little goldfish."

You just letting out a whimper followed by a whiny "Please." was enough for the subordinates to give in. While one of them stayed to keep an eye on the now freed Kid Pirate, the other ran to do as she had ordered.

Neither of them wanted to be the one to face Don Dandolos wrath.

Birdie and you watched, when the man, who had stayed with you checked on the guards, who still hadn't regained their consciousness. 

The sound of someone applauding made you turn your attention to the door. 

There stood Don Dandolo, a broad smile on his face. 

He didn't seem to be surprised to find the two of you like this. 

Slowly he came closer, until Birdie pulled your head into a much more uncomfortable angle.

"Stop right there, you bastard!", she seethed.

The bald man, raised his hands and stopped.

"As fiery as when we first met, my dear. I must admit, it surprised me to hear you've joined the ranks of the Kid Pirates. Eustass Kid must be a very convincing man, that he can keep such a loyal marine by his side and even get her to abandon the World Government.", he said in a mocking tone.

"Not your fucking business. Now set me free, right now!", the petite woman demanded agressively.

"You think I'll give two shits about your little hostage?"

This reply hit you as well as Birdie like a punch to the gut. Stunned she even went that far to let go of you. 

"B-But your alliance with Law.", you breathed incredulous.

"Was never an option. I knew from the start, he'd only aim for his own gain. Everyone thinks I'm the dimwitted fool I was, when I lost all that money Doflamingo entrusted me with. Well guess what, I'm no longer that man. I will use Law to take care of Kid for me and once they've killed each other, I'll convince Doflamingo, that Trafalgar intended to betray him with the help of the Kid Pirates. Of course he will be utterly thankful and raise me to the top ranks of the family. After all I managed to get rid off of two potential rivals of his."

Don Dandolo giggled happily, only to continue telling you his elaborate plan.

"As for the two of you. Once I've taken care of your paramours, I'd be more than willing to have you join the ranks of my favourites."

"Pass, motherfucker!", you yelled in unison.

"Fine then, I've prepared a solution in case you'd turn me down. There's some revenge-business, I've got to deal with after all."

With a snap of his ringed sausage-like fingers, he summoned more than two dozens of guards, who came flooding into the room from every corner. 

They were too quick for any of you to react. 

While they had quickly overpowered you and had made sure you weren't able to move your hands, they had to struggle with Birdie, whose hand-to-hand-combat skills were way more refined than yours.

But in the end she too was restrained.

Dandolos blue pig's eyes zeroed in on Birdie.

"You know how long I've dreamed of getting you into my hands little one? Now that I have you, I'll make sure to give you a proper death. Simply shooting or strangling you, won't do. But with our little Miss [y/n] here, theres a much better option. Have you heard what she's capable of, once she loses control?", he asked with a sly smile, before answering his question by himself. "No? Well you'll see it at sunset. I'm sure your beloved Captain Kid will be devastated when he hears, who has torn you to shreds. He'll turn his anger on me, but once he sees who's there to protect me and to save his little precious mermaid from her crazed frenzy, he'll tear into Trafalgar Law first. Doesn't that sound great?"

"Sick son of a bitch.", Birdie muttered.

"Oh I knew you'd love it."

The Don cackled, before motioning the guards to lock both of you up in the same cell.

After both of you were properly restrained to the cells walls, a servant approached him.

"Boss, what about the two, who escorted them here? They're still knocked out but they will make it. God knows what happened to them."

Looking at the two injured men, the fat baron shook his head.

"Shoot them and throw their bodies into the sea. They weren't even able to finish a simple task. I don't tolerate deadbeats like them in my guard."

At the wave of his hand, two gunshots rung out.

***

"Why isn't she here yet?!"

The angry and annoyed scoff of Eustass Kid sounded more and more like a growl with every time he hissed it.

"She should arrive in a few minutes, the deadline isn't over yet, Kid."

Killer kept a close eye on his grumpy and worried captain. He didn't say it out loud, but he too started to worry.

"CAPTAIN!"

The yell of Booka tore through the tensed up atmosphere.

As quickly as his giant frame allowed him to, he ran towards the redhead, in his hand a piece of paper that bore the seal of Don Dandolo, Doflamingos Jolly Roger flanked by two carnvial masks.

In bold letters two sentences were written onto it.

"YOU WANT YOUR WOMAN? COME GET HER OR SHE'S FISH FEED BY SUNSET!"

***

Usually Trafalgar Laws plans were unlikely to fail.

But when he recieved news from Don Dandolo that [y/n] had been wounded by Birdie and was asking to be picked up by her nakama, everything about it felt wrong. His doubts only grew when the baron told him, that the Kid Pirates had sent a message in which they accused him of apprehending their captains paramour. They threatened to attack him by sunset and now the frightened ruler of Carnival Island hoped for protection and support from the Heart Pirates.

Laws thoughts were confirmed, when Eustass Kid nearly came flying through the speaker of his Den Den Mushi only a few minutes later, yelling at him about a letter he had recieved from Dandolo. 

"FUCK YOUR PLAN, TRAFALGAR! THAT BLOODY BASTARD HUSTLED YOU AND IF YOU THINK I'LL LET MY WOMAN PAY FOR IT, YOU'RE WRONG!"

"[Y/n]-ya is with her. Calm down!", the black-haired surgeon said, surprised how he could say this so easily, when he actually didn't know if you were really okay or actually hurt, as the Don wanted him to believe you were.

"MY ASS! I'LL GET BIRDIE AT SUNDOWN AND IF YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOUR FISH ISN'T KILLED WHILE I'M AT IT, YOU BETTER SHOW UP. BECAUSE SHE CAN ROT FOR ALL I CARE!"

A crash was heard and the call ended.

Law put down the speaker and closed his eyes.

This wasn't good.

For the first time in his life ever since he had set foot on the Grand Line, he felt like he had fucked up.

And to make it worse, you would pay the price for it.

He needed to fix this.

As soon as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER
> 
> The Avatar-fans among you will have recognized the brand new skill of Mermaid-ya immediately.
> 
> Yes. I was inspired by the blood-bending, which can be used by water benders. Since I gave her the ability to manipulate water, I thought it might be a nice touch and underline that there's darkness in every special skill. Further fighting scenes in which she will make use of her powers will also be inspired by Avatars water bending.

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER
> 
> Original characters, their design and all orginal elements from AbyssCronicas stories, solely belong to her.
> 
> All elements originating from One Piece belong to Eiichiro Oda.
> 
> All elements originating from Avatar: The Last Airbender belong to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.


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